Photograph
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Dean F. Markham
JFKWHSFDFM-044-002-p0033
Photograph of the coconut John F. Kennedy used to send a message following the destruction of PT-109 during World War II. The caption below reads: "MESSAGE OF HOPE - The cocoanut shell, now encased in plastic, which the then Lt. John F. Kennedy used to send back word that he and his fellow-crewmen on PT 109 were safe. It sat on the President's White House desk while he was in office, now it will go into the Kennedy Library."