The USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. is home to the Admiral Arleigh Burke National Destroyermen's Museum, which maintains a vast collection of cruise books, photos, and artifacts from various destroyers.

Probably the most famous destroyermen in naval history, four-star Admiral Arleigh Albert "31-Knot" Burke, USN, was a well known, respected and decorated naval officer. The namesake for the Navy's latest Aegis Arleigh Burke-Class destroyers (DDG-51), Burke received his nickname "31-Knot" for the speed at which his destroyer groups could operate in the Pacific theater during WWII.

Within the Burke Museum are various murals, artifacts, interactive displays, and ship lists that portray the proud heritage of destroyermen and the United States Navy. The museum is currently working with many ship and veteran organizations to preserve and present artifacts, pictures, and stories both physically and digitally. One of the best examples of this is the largest single class destroyer site on the Internet: The Benson-Livermore class Destroyer Website.

Details courtesy of USS Kennedy Restoration Committee. Visit their website to learn more about Kennedy and the hard-core crew that restores her.

Robert F. Kennedy
1925-1968

RFK: Carrying on with a tradition begun by his brothers Joe and Jack, Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy enlisted in the Navy for WWII. Although he missed the war altogether, Seaman Kennedy served as a radarman on board DD-850, the only vessel aboard which he was to serve during his brief naval career.

In 1948 he graduated from Harvard, and earned his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1951. After managing brother John's Senate campaign in 1952, and then his presidential campaign eight years later, RFK accepted the Office of the Attorney General in 1961.

Kennedy resigned his cabinet position for a successful Senate bid in 1964. One June 4, 1968, merely four months after announcing his candidacy for President, he was assassinated in a Los Angeles hotel.

Click here to visit the Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Archives at nearby UMass Dartmouth.