| BLOC-BUSTER
ENTERTAINMENT: Destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy
Jr., Battleship Cove staff members, and Kennedy volunteers
all participated in filming the marine phase of the Kevin Costner film Thirteen
Days, in which the Kennedy reprises her role and that of the USS John
R Pierce in the Cuban Missile Crisis. During those historic two weeks in October
1962, the Kennedy, the Pierce, and other US Navy vessels shadowed
Soviet freighters that were suspected of delivering missiles to Cuba.
After
four weeks of intense preparations at Battleship Cove, the Kennedy was towed to
Goat Island Marina in Newport, the first time a destroyer had been at that pier
in about forty-five years. There, the New Line Cinema film crew loaded about 35
tons of gear on board the Kennedy, including cameras, costumes, and an
immense amount of lighting equipment. Click here
to read more about Thirteen Days. Click here
to read a firsthand account of the boarding of Marucla by USS Kennedy's
executive officer, Captain K.C. Reynolds. |
