Date Made: ca. 1960
Medium: Gold-plated metal
Dimensions: 1/2 x 2 inches
Perhaps most popular campaign item was the tie-clasp replicating the form of PT 109, the boat captained by JFK during the Second World War. In an effort to quell public concerns about what some called candidate Kennedy’s "inexperience", the Kennedy campaign sought to publicize his heroic service in the Navy. In addition to the tie clasps, thousands of booklets retelling the events of the sinking of PT 109 and Kennedy’s efforts to save his crew in the days that followed were mailed to hundreds of thousands of homes across the country.
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum