Block Buster Entertainment
Destroyer Kennedy Stars in Thirteen Days

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 USSJohn 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.

“We were on the brink of war with the Soviet Union,” remembers Captain Allan Slaff, who served as an officer on board USSMassachusetts during WWII and as the Commanding Officer of the USS Davis during the Cuban Missile Crisis. “We were immediately assigned to a blockade station and our rules of engagement authorized the Commanding Officers to open fire on any vessel who after being suitably warned tried to run the blockade.” As diplomacy failed and tensions escalated, one Soviet-chartered freighter, the Marucla, was stopped by the Kennedy and boarded for inspection. Says Slaff, “At the very last minute [the Soviets] blinked and ordered their ships to turn around for home.”

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 Cinemas film crew loaded about 35 tons of gear on board the Kennedy, including cameras, costumes, and an immense amount of lighting equipment.
Later, the Kennedy was moved from Goat Island to her anchorage off Jamestown. This was the first time she had dropped anchor in over 27 years. She weighed anchor each day for filming on the open ocean, where she played host to over 100 guests, including actors, directors, producers, and an extensive support staff

Captain Bruce Fisher, president of Northeast Pilots Association, piloted the ship during all of her movements. Captain Fisher needed to keep the Kennedy in position relative to two “Soviet” merchant ships - and keep his tugs out of the camera’s lens.

Two days of aerial photography included the Kennedy firing volleys of blank rounds (simulating star shells) from her 5" Mount 51. In one sequence, she doubled as Pierce when special effects crews created a little “Hollywood Magic,” morphing her 850 hull number to Pierce’s 753. Another Battleship Cove star earned a cameo appearance in the film: our 26-foot motor whaleboat, which prominently displayed the DD850 emblem on her bow. She “ran with the big boys” at sea for two days and proudly carried the Kennedy’s boarding crew to the Russian freighter again, and again, and again….

Kennedy volunteers, including many members of the Tin Can Sailors organization, provided invaluable support in preparing the destroyer and operating her equipment during her two-week tour of duty. Like seasoned old salts, these volunteers kept the after emergency diesel generator on line, supplying power for over 370 hours.