Dick and Jack: America's Odd Couple

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    • HerbertVonKarajan

    HerbertVonKarajan

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    There were many certain things you could say about Dick Nixon and Jack Kennedy, but no one ever accused them of screwing the other over. When it came to screwing someone else though, only those two did it best.
    -Daniel Patrick Moynihan, 2003

    The Pacific Ocean created strange bedfellows throughout a "certain" period within the 1940s. Of course, many modern historians would like to point towards the cooperation between Lyndon Johnson and the MacArthur Administration within the 50s, but the more inquisitive would look back towards the political power couple of the 60s, which had gotten its start on a small piece of land known as Bougainville all those years ago.
    -Robert Caro; "Of Muckers and Plumbers", 1998

    Sometimes I wondered how and why my father and Uncle Dick became friends, since they almost seemed like complete polar opposites. Sometimes though in the 80s, when we either visited them or they came over to visit us, I would be greeted with the sight of the two of them, just sitting in a sort of silence. They were talking of course, but it was in a hushed tone that you could barely hear. It was then when I realized they were both the same in terms of shyness. Its just my dad hid it better than Uncle Dick ever did.
    -John F. Kennedy II, 2015

    Dick and Jack


    ​
    For many Americans, the 20th Century was a time to truly reminisce about. After the infamous Seoul incident of 2016 and the political instability that followed, the optimism of the New Millennium had finally worn off, and in came a gritty, depressing realization that the world many worked so hard to build had finally come crashing down. When the dust finally settled and sabers once again to rattle, a renewed interest within the past had taken hold over the psyche of the world's nations.

    In the land of hope and glory, tales of gentlemanly chivalry took hold as the old empire saw its revival in the realm of British culture. The same had occurred over in France, with the tales of Bonaparte and his Marshals captivating even the staunchest of young republicans. Across the new republics of the old USSR, the likes of Kosygin and Yakovlev were idolized for the hope they had brought, whilst the Chinese looked back towards Sun Yat Sen and his principles.

    Over in the United States though, a different type of nostalgia took hold. The glories of the past were still recent, and in the midst of what was seen by most as a sort of stagnation of ideals, the American public had become captivated by the titans of their past. MacArthur and Roosevelt were once again put atop their gleaming pedestals, whilst the likes of Wallace and Faubus became further vilified within society.

    In the middle of it all though, were the likes of the Richard Nixon and John Kennedy, two men with nearly polar opposite backgrounds. One, a poor boy from the outskirts of Los Angeles. The other, a rich kid from the suburbs of Boston. Strange bedfellows politics makes, but in their case, it was even stranger how they came to meet, for the story of the two men's friendship with each other didn't begin in the halls of Congress, but rather in a little hamburger shack in the south pacific.
     
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    • HerbertVonKarajan

    HerbertVonKarajan

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    Nick's Hamburger Shack
    ​
    Despite the popular sentiment that lawyers were best sent towards the front line, the United States Navy saw it fit to send Richard Nixon towards the realm of supply and administration. Try as he might, the former member of the Office of Price Administration found him and his wife Pat first whisked away towards a remote airfield in the middle of Iowa before he finally managed to secure himself a post within the pacific.

    What he thought would be his first taste of war soon turned out to be a two week voyage plagued by sea-sickness and then disappointment of being assigned to South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT)... another logistics and supply post. Between June and October of 1943, Nixon found himself island hopping as an Assistant Operations Officer, handling basic oversight over air transport operations within his area.

    It wasn't until October of that year when he finally was promoted to become the O. in C. of his own SCAT detachment, further handling medical, mail, passenger, and other logistical duties on his own airfield. By New Years Day of 1944, Nixon found himself at Bougainville.

    Bougainville was a hub of activity in the logistical sense, and by no means did anyone sit down and laze about all day long. However, when downtime did come, it was hard to find anything to do (aside from the occasional poker game). Ever the intrepid supply officer though, Nixon soon created something of a piece of home for many people come through his airfield on the island. Every so often when he had the time and supply, Nick's (as he was called) Hamburger Shack would open serving free burgers and beer for pilots and their crews. Though it was by all means a small operation, it was something that quickly gained a good form of popularity amongst the personnel at the airfield.

    A few weeks later, on a day like any other, a C-47 landed at Nixon's airfield, and amongst its passengers who were getting off, was a young man from Boston with a very bad back.

    In a manner fit for an adventure novel, the war time escapades of John F Kennedy greatly differed from that of Richard Nixon. A decorated war hero already who had his PT Boat sliced in half from right under him, Jack Kennedy was a sight to behold in the letters read back home. In the flesh though, one would their there were looking at a tall stick. Already suffering from an aggravated back, the destruction of PT-109 only served to worsen his back problems, and his attempts to hide it and avoid treatment for a few months didn't help matters at all. It wasn't until November 18th when a doctor's order had him relieved of his command of PT-59 and sent away for treatment on the island of Tulagi.

    By early January, it had become apparent that Kennedy wasn't getting back into the field and the orders sending him stateside came through. Had it not been for some fuel issues with the Douglas, Kennedy most likely would've never been to Bougainville in January, but as fate would have it... a leaking fuel tank and a hungry stomach had seen Kennedy appear at the front counter of Nick's Hamburger Shack, with Richard Nixon ready to serve the next hungry customer who came his way.

    In an interview in the late 80s, both men stated that they just spoke of trivial things, the comparing each others colleges, and then of course sweethearts (in that same interview, Kennedy joked about Nixon gushing over Pat while they were on the subject), but something clearly stuck as within a month, Nixon would receive a letter postmarked from Boston... and a correspondence soon became a friendship once Nixon returned stateside in July later that year.

    All the while, as two polar opposites became friends, the world continued to burn all around them.
     
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    • Chapman

    Chapman

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    Kennedy/Nixon when? Whatever this timeline ends up entailing, i'm looking forward to it. Off to a very interesting start
     

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