*#ALIH [[Joseph P. Kennedy , SrJr.]] ▼{{Short description|United States Navy Lieutenant and elder brother of John F. Kennedy (1915-1944)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Navy.JPG
| caption = Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] ({{circa}} 1942)
| birth_name = Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr.
| birth_date = {{birth date|1915|7|25}}
| birth_place = {{nowrap|[[Hull, Massachusetts]], U.S.}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1944|8|12|1915|7|25}}
| death_place = Over [[Blythburgh]], [[East Suffolk (county)|East Suffolk]], England
| death_cause = Naval airplane explosion during [[Operation Aphrodite]]
| resting_place = Remains never recovered
| education = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br/>{{nowrap|[[London School of Economics]]}}
| occupation = [[Naval aviation|Naval aviator]]
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| parents = {{plainlist|
▲* [[Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.]]
* [[Rose Kennedy|Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy]]}}
| relatives = See [[Kennedy family]]
| signature = Joeseph P Kennedy Jr Kennedy Signature.svg
| module = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
| allegiance = United States
| branch = [[United States Navy]]
| serviceyears = 1941–1944
| rank = [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]]
|placeofburial= [[Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial]]<br/>[[Cambridge]], England
|placeofburial_label= Memorial – Wall of the Missing
| unit = Patrol Squadron 203<br/>Bombing Squadron 110, Special Air Unit 1
| battles = [[World War II]]
| awards = [[Navy Cross]]<br/>[[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]<br/>[[Purple Heart]]<br/>[[Air Medal]]
}}
}}
'''Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr.''' (July 25, 1915 – August 12, 1944) was a [[Lieutenant (navy)|lieutenant]] in the [[U.S. Navy]]. He was a member of the [[Kennedy family]] and the eldest of the nine children born to [[Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.]] and [[Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy]]. During [[World War II]], Kennedy was killed in action while serving as a land-based patrol bomber pilot, and posthumously awarded the [[Navy Cross]].
His father had aspirations for him to become [[U.S. president]]. He was a delegate to the [[1940 Democratic National Convention]] and planned to run for a seat in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] after his military service as the first stepping stone on the path to the presidency.<ref name="MacIntyre">{{cite news |last=MacIntyre |first=Ben |date=August 2, 2014 |title=How Joseph Kennedy's death changed US history |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/how-joseph-kennedys-death-changed-us-history/news-story/eb9bfd6642edd87c85e8958a46886955 |work=The Australian |location=Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia}}</ref> Kennedy's death while participating in a [[Operation Aphrodite|top-secret mission]] in 1944 caused his father to transfer his aspirations to his next-oldest son, [[John F. Kennedy]],<ref name="MacIntyre"/> who followed the path first planned for his older brother by advancing from the House to the [[U.S. Senate]] and then to the presidency.<ref name="MacIntyre"/>
| 