Lieutenant Kennedy was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for extremely heroic conduct as Commanding Officer of PT 109 following its sinking in the Pacific War Area on August 1-2, 1943. The JFK Library and Museum's screening of the National Geographic EXPLORER film about the recovery of PT 109 includes a panel discussion with Dr. Robert Ballard, Expedition Leader, Richard Keresey, PT 105 Captain, and Maxwell Kennedy, Expedition Crew Member. The panel discussion is moderated by Boyd Matson, host of National Geographic EXPLORER.
Bob Ballard is a graduate of the University of California with a degree in geology and chemistry and with a commission in Army Intelligence. Later his Commission was transferred to the U.S. Navy, where he remains a Commander in the Naval Reserve. Bob Ballard is president of the Institute for Exploration in Mystic, Connecticut, a senior scientist emeritus in the Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering at the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution, and founder of the JASON Foundation for Education.
Boyd Matson is best known as the long-time host of "National Geographic Explorer" and current host of "Wild Chronicles," as well as for his survival skill expertise and participation in a number of key expeditions worldwide