John Kennedy, Jr. served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Captain during World War II. The Commander of a unit of manned anti-aircraft batteries on the USS Wasp aircraft carrier, he was missing in action on September 15, 1942 when the USS Wasp was torpedoed and sunk in the Coral Sea. He was awarded the Purple Heart. He is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
