Climb aboard the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., a warship named for JFK’s brother that played a pivotal role in the Cuban Missile Crisis

• The USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. served in the Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Cold War.
• The Gearing-class destroyer was named for John F. Kennedy's older brother, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
• The ship is now a museum and war memorial docked at Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts.

In the 2000 film "Thirteen Days" dramatizing the Cuban Missile Crisis, the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. reprised the role of a lifetime.

Back in 1962, the Gearing-class destroyer stopped a freighter heading toward Cuba that was suspected of carrying missile parts, sending a boarding party to inspect its cargo in a display of the US Navy's might.

During the filming of "Thirteen Days," the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. reenacted this pivotal mission, playing herself in a triumphant return to the open seas nearly 40 years later.

Having served in the Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Cold War, the ship's ability to star in a movie is a testament to the work of museum staff and volunteers at Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts, to keep it afloat.

"There's always this constant desire to bring the ships back to their original configuration, and our volunteers are heavily involved in that," Christopher Nardi, Battleship Cove's chief operating officer, told Business Insider. "We have a really good core of volunteers."

I visited the ship — now a museum and war memorial — named for President John F. Kennedy's older brother. Take a look inside the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., whose sailors affectionately called her "Joey P."

The USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. carried out numerous missions for the US Navy and NASA during its years of service.

Commissioned in 1945, the ship was built in just eight months as part of the Gearing-class of destroyers.

At 390 feet long, it just outstretches the length of one football field.

The crew consisted of 288 men: 18 officers and 270 enlisted. When fully loaded, it weighed 3,460 tons.

The ship was named for Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., who was killed in action in 1944 while serving as a pilot in World War II.

The eldest son of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and the older brother of the future President John F. Kennedy, "Joe" was a lieutenant in the US Navy. He and his co-pilot, Lieutenant Wilford John Willy, died during Operation Aphrodite in 1944 when the explosives aboard their plane detonated before they ejected to safety.

Members of the Kennedy family attended the ship's christening and launch on July 26, 1945.

In attendance were Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., his wife, Rose Kennedy, and their children Patricia, Jean, Ted, and Eunice.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy watched America's Cup sailing races aboard the ship in Newport, Rhode Island.

Homeported in Newport, Rhode Island, the destroyer also traveled to Washington, DC, for Kennedy's inauguration in 1961.

The USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was deployed during the Cuban Missile Crisis and assisted with NASA spaceflight missions.

The USS Joseph P. Kennedy helped recover spacecraft from the ocean during NASA's Project Mercury in 1961 and the Gemini 6 and 7 missions in 1965.

The destroyer also participated in the US naval blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, boarding the freighter Marcula to search it for missile components.

The USS Joseph P. Kennedy was decommissioned in 1973.

Battleship Cove acquired the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. in 1974 and turned it into a museum, where it remains open to the public.

Located in Fall River, Massachusetts, Battleship Cove is also home to the battleship USS Massachusetts and the submarine USS Lionfish.

I visited the museum in January and paid $25 for a general-admission adult ticket.

While walking up to board the ship, the first thing I noticed was its 5-inch/38 caliber twin gun mounts.

The 5-inch guns could fire projectiles weighing 55 pounds up to 10 miles.

I climbed up to the deck and found the ship's Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter (DASH) hangar.

DASHes, smaller than regular helicopters, were deployed to drop torpedoes on unsuspecting enemy submarines.

The hangar and flight deck were added to the ship as part of the Navy's Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program in 1961.

An Anti-Submarine Rocket Launcher (ASROC) provided additional firepower.

This device was known as a "pepperbox" or "matchbox" launcher for its boxy shape. It could fire torpedoes over 5 miles away.

The ship featured walkways on either side of the main deck, known as the starboard side on the right and the port side on the left.

Some parts of the deck were blocked off for preservation work as museum volunteers restored the ship.

The bridge functioned as the ship's main control center.

The bridge featured navigation, steering, and communication equipment. It was situated high up with numerous windows for maximum visibility.

The wardroom was a space where officers ate their meals and relaxed during their off hours.

The wardroom featured a portrait of the ship's namesake, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.

Next door was the wardroom pantry, where officers' meals were plated and reheated.

Officers ate the same meals as the rest of the crew, but in a more elevated atmosphere.

Cooks prepared all of the meals in the ship's main galley.

Menus included seasonal meals, such as turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, to boost crew morale.

Further inside, a narrow passageway led to the ship's offices.

I was surprised by how narrow the hallways were, reminiscent of a submarine.

The ship's office handled personnel and payroll records, as well as other administrative paperwork.

Crew members who worked in this office were known as Yeomen and Personnelmen.

The supply department ensured the ship was fully stocked at all times.

Crew members in the supply department oversaw supplies of tactical items, such as ammunition, and other necessities, such as food.

Crew members who were sick or injured went to the sick bay for treatment.

The sick bay was also equipped for minor surgeries, complete with a folding operating table.

A crew member known as the "oil king" managed the oil and water test shack.

The oil king was the ship's fuel expert responsible for keeping the fuel tanks full and monitoring the quality of the boiler feedwater.

The engineering department office also served as the ship's damage control center during combat.

When crew members were at their battle stations, the engineering department transformed into damage control central to coordinate repairs to the ship.

The ship's barbershop could double as a battle dressing station.

If the sick bay was unavailable or compromised, the barbershop could also function as a space to treat injuries sustained in combat.

In the electronics shop, electronics technicians known as ETs maintained and repaired the ship's electronic equipment.

ETs worked with everything from crucial radio and weapons systems to power tools from the ship's machine shop.

At the ship store, crew members could purchase personal care products, snacks, and cigarettes.

The ship store on board the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. displayed shaving cream and razors, as well as recognizable brands of snacks such as Sun-Maid raisins, Planters mixed nuts, and Ritz crackers.

I descended a ladder to the crew's bunks, which were triple-stacked to make the most use of the tight space.

With a crew of 288 men packed into a 390-foot-long ship, personal space was hard to come by.

The machine shop helped the USS Joseph P. Kennedy be self-sustaining while at sea by making parts needed for repairs.

The machine shop also occasionally assisted with servicing other ships.

The USS Joseph P. Kennedy had two engine rooms, forward (front) and after (back).

The after engine room was responsible for the movement of the ship's portside, or left, propeller.

The evaporator in the after engine room distilled seawater into 4,000 gallons of fresh water a day.

Fresh water had many uses on the ship. The first priority was filling the boilers that kept the ship's steam-powered system running. Drinking, bathing, and cooking were secondary priorities.

The degaussing switchboard helped protect the ship from magnetic impulse mines.

The degaussing switchboard sent direct-current voltage to coils throughout the ship to reduce its magnetic signature, preventing it from setting off magnetic naval mines.

In addition to a museum, the ship also serves as a war memorial for service members from Massachusetts who died in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

An unoccupied chair of honor, dedicated to prisoners of war and those missing in action, symbolizes that "there will always be a place awaiting their return," the accompanying plaque reads.

Historic ships like the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. paved the way for more advanced vessels.

The USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., like many retired warships, was at risk of being disassembled for spare parts until it was acquired by a museum dedicated to its preservation and restoration.

"Especially in the case of the Kennedy, she sat in Newport for a few years, and so other active ships' crews would come on board and take what they needed for their ships if it was the appropriate equipment," Nardi said. "So we're very lucky compared to some other ships and stuff they lost."

The US Navy continues to rely on destroyers.

Modern guided-missile destroyers, such as Arleigh Burke- and Zumwalt-class destroyers, are equipped to both launch and intercept missiles. They have recently been deployed to the Middle East in June 2025 to counter Iranian ballistic missile attacks aimed at Israel and to the Caribbean in September 2025 to combat drug cartels.

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