Patrick Bouvier Kennedy it was necessary. On the morning of Wednesday, August 7, Jackie Kennedy took Caroline and John Jr for a pony ride in Osterville, Massachusetts. While the children were riding, Kennedy felt labor pains. Walsh was summoned, and they were taken by helicopter to the Otis Air Force Base. President Kennedy was at the White House at the time. August 7 was the 20-year anniversary of the day the Navy had rescued him in World War II after he had spent five days marooned on an island in the Pacific. Kennedy had been in command of Motor Torpedo Boat "PT-109" when
Caroline Herschel he suffered a weak constitution, chronic pain, and asthma for the remainder of his life. The oldest of their daughters, Sophia, was sixteen years older, and the only surviving girl besides Caroline. She married when Caroline was five, meaning that the younger girl was tasked with much of the household drudgery. Caroline and the other children received a cursory education, learning to read and write and little more. Her father attempted to educate her at home, but his efforts were mostly successful with the boys. At the age of ten, Caroline was struck with typhus, which stunted her growth, such