USS Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . ( DD - 850 ) USS " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " ( DD - 850 ) is a United States Navy . The ship was named after Lieutenant Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . , a naval aviator , son of the former Ambassador to Britain , Joseph P . Kennedy , Sr . , and older brother of future President John F . Kennedy . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " would serve , with interruptions for modernization , until 1973 . Among the highlights of her service are the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the afloat recovery teams for " Gemini 6 " and " Gemini 7 " . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " is presently on display as a museum ship in Battleship Cove , Fall River , Massachusetts . 1945 – 1950 . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " was built by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation ' s Fore River Shipyard at Quincy , Massachusetts , launched on 26 July 1945 , sponsored by Miss Jean Kennedy Smith , sister of Lt . Kennedy . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " was commissioned at Boston on 15 December 1945 , Commander H . G . Moore in command . The new destroyer sailed on 4 February 1946 for shakedown training in the Caribbean . Robert F . Kennedy , Joseph ' s brother , sailed on this cruise as an apprentice seaman . She returned to her homeport , Newport , in April , and was occupied for the next few months in Naval Reserve Training . Arriving Norfolk on 8 October , the ship joined Admiral William D . Leahy ' s flagship , , and other units for a cruise to Chile and Venezuela . She transited the Panama Canal twice on this voyage , and was reviewed by the President of Venezuela on 25 November 1946 . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " , returned to her home port on 14 December 1946 . During 1947 the destroyer operated on the East Coast and in the Caribbean . She sailed for fleet maneuvers off Puerto Rico on 9 February and upon completion steamed eastward to join the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean . During this period of great unrest in Europe , the fleet carried out the important role of peacekeeper and stabilizer . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " visited various Mediterranean ports before arriving Newport on 26 June 1948 . The remainder of the year was spent in antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) exercises , and the first half of 1949 saw her make two training cruises to the Caribbean . The ship sailed on 23 August 1949 for 6th Fleet duty as flagship of Destroyer Squadron 18 ( DESRON 18 ) , returning on 27 January 1950 . 1950 – 1960 . With the advent of war in Korea , " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " carried out reserve training during July 1950 , followed by bombardment and convoy exercises to prepare for action defending South Korea from Communist aggression . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " , sailed for Japan on 3 January 1951 by way of the Panama Canal , Pearl Harbor , and Midway Atoll . At Sasebo she loaded ammunition and , exactly one month after departure from Newport , joined Task Force 77 ( TF 77 ) off Korea . From February to April she screened the attack carriers as they pounded enemy positions and supply lines . She departed on 8 April for the Formosa Patrol , helping to prevent further hostilities across the volatile Taiwan Straits . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " , then returned to Korea arriving off Wonsan on 20 May to take up bombardment station in support of the Allied siege and occupation of harbor islands . This duty continued until 13 June , a period of almost constant bombardment of great importance to the operation , after which the ship steamed to Sasebo . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " did not return to the West Coast immediately upon the termination of this combat duty , but instead steamed westward to complete a circuit of the globe . With other units of Destroyer Squadron 8 , she visited Singapore , Bahrein , Port Said , Naples , and Gibraltar before returning to Newport on 9 August 1951 . Until January 1953 she conducted battle practice and served as school ship for the Fleet Training School at Newport . She sailed on 7 January for another 6th Fleet cruise , returning to Newport on 18 May 1953 . Antisubmarine training exercises and another Mediterranean cruise January – May 1954 comprised her duty through most of 1955 , and she sailed on 5 November for Arctic maneuvers off northern Europe . The ship visited Oslo , Norway , and Bremerhaven , West Germany , carrying out tactical exercises with units of the 6th Fleet before returning to Newport on 5 March 1956 . In June 1956 , " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " arrived at Annapolis with battleships and to embark United States Naval Academy midshipmen for a practice cruise . Upon returning from Northern Europe on 1 August , the ship took part in training operations until 6 May 1957 , when she sailed once more for 6th Fleet duty . The Jordanian crisis had just passed with the strong support of the fleet , and " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " took part in carrier operations until September , when she steamed to the coast of Norway for NATO joint maneuvers . She returned to Newport on 22 October 1957 . Again in 1958 the ship sailed to the Mediterranean , and on this cruise spent April in the Persian Gulf with the Middle East Force before arriving Newport on 1 July 1958 . After a needed period of overhaul at Boston , " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " , arrived at Annapolis once more on 3 June 1959 for midshipman training . Along with other ships of the task group , she entered the St . Lawrence River and represented the Navy at the opening of the St . Lawrence Seaway on 26 June 1959 . Following the ceremonies , in which both President Dwight D . Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II took part , the destroyer entered the Seaway and steamed to Chicago on 2 July . The ship visited various ports before returning to the Atlantic on 6 August . In 1960 she returned to the Mediterranean with and , returning to Newport on 15 October . 1961 – 1964 . In January 1961 " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " , steamed to Washington , D . C . for the inauguration of John F . Kennedy , brother of her namesake . During February and April of that year she took part in space shots in the Project Mercury series . She then arrived New York City on 1 July 1961 for a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization ( FRAM ) overhaul in the New York Naval Shipyard . During this period she received the latest in antisubmarine gear , a new helicopter flight deck and hangar aft , and numerous other modifications designed to increase her useful life . After emerging in her new dress in late May 1962 , she underwent exhaustive shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , returning on 26 August 1962 . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " , with other ships of the fleet , reacted quickly to the threat of Soviet ballistic missile s in Cuba , and President Kennedy ' s quarantine order . Sailing on 22 October , the ship took an active part in the blockade that forced an easing of the Cuban Missile Crisis , and boarded Lebanese freighter " Marucla " on 26 October under the command of Captain Nicholas S . Mikhalevsky . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " loosely reenacted this episode as part of the movie " Thirteen Days " in which she was towed out to sea and had several of her systems ( radar , torpedo tubes , gun mounts ) made operable and used and operated by Naval Reservists to provide a bit of authenticity to the film . After participating in this graphic demonstration of the power and mobility of the US Navy , " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " remained on patrol in the Caribbean until returning to Newport on 7 December 1962 . During 1963 the veteran destroyer carried out training operations off the Virginia Capes and Nova Scotia . She departed Newport on 29 April 1964 for another Med cruise until 26 August , and in October was underway for Operation Steel Pike I , one of the largest amphibious operations since World War II . During the passage of the task force to the Spanish coast , she acted as antisubmarine screening ship . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " returned to Newport on 19 November 1964 . 1965 – 1967 . Late in January 1965 , " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " , put to sea for Port Canaveral , Florida , where she helped qualify two newly constructed Polaris submarine s for patrol overseas . There followed a regular 3 - month overhaul in the Boston Naval Shipyard . Commander J . W . Hayes took over command of " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " from Captain J . V . Peters on 14 July ; the next day , a 2 - month period of refresher training commenced as the ship set sail for Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . The US manned space program was one of " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " s more recent commitments ; leaving Newport on 27 November 1965 , the ship took station southeast of Bermuda as part of the afloat recovery team for " Gemini 6 " and " Gemini 7 " on a 14 - day orbital and rendezvous mission in space . The shots a success and her duty done , " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " returned to Newport on 21 December to prepare for another deployment in the Mediterranean . Assigned to DESRON 10 , " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " departed Newport on 15 February 1966 for duty with the 6th Fleet . After arriving at Gibraltar on 24 February , she participated during the next four months in AAW and ASW operations and ranged the Mediterranean from the North African coast to Turkey . She completed her peace - keeping patrols late in June and returned to Newport on 8 July . During the remainder of the year she conducted destroyer exercises and carrier screening operations off the eastern seaboard . In mid - November she participated in recovery operations following the successful 4 - day flight of " Gemini 12 " . On 1 March 1967 " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " again sailed for duty with the 6th Fleet . She cruised the Mediterranean until late April , and then transited the Suez Canal for the Red Sea and Indian Ocean . Late in June she departed the Gulf of Aden for the United States . Steaming via the Cape of Good Hope and South America , she arrived Newport the following month . There she resumed readiness training . End of Career . As part of the Navy drawdown resulting from the end of US involvement in Vietnam , the " Kennedy " was decommissioned in early 1973 and was struck from the Navy Register on 1 July the same year . Due to her famous namesake and close association with the Kennedy family , plans were soon made for her preservation . Museum ship . After decommissioning , " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 July 1973 and removed to Fall River , Massachusetts as a unit of the Battleship Cove Museum . , she is open to the public as the official memorial to Massachusetts citizens who gave their lives during the Korean and Vietnam War s . She is also home to the Admiral Arleigh Burke National Destroyermen ' s Museum . In the spring of 2000 , " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " was brought to Rhode Island Sound for the movie " Thirteen Days " , portraying both herself and . The ship was crewed by active duty Navy and Naval Reservists in period uniforms , and some systems ( radar antennae , gun mounts , and ASW torpedo tubes ) were made semi - operational for action scenes , with the ship being towed around at sea by a tugboat that was kept out of frame during filming . Awards . Note – In addition to the above awards , the " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " became retroactively eligible for the Navy Combat Action Ribbon and the Korean War Service Medal from the Republic of Korea . The " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " displays the ribbon of the Asiatic - Pacific Campaign Medal at Battleship Cove in Fall River , Massachusetts . The " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " was not in the area of eligibility for this medal during the appropriate time period .