AN elderly villager in the Solomon Islands has been honored by the US Navy for a crucial, but little remembered, contribution to world history - the day, 64 years ago, when he saved the life of the future American president John F. Kennedy.
US Navy Secretary Donald Winter presented gifts including an American flag to Eroni Kumana, a native scout for the Allied forces, who went to the aid of Kennedy and his comrades during the Guadalcanal campaign in August 1943. Mr Kumana, who is now in his mid-80s and nearly deaf, paddled 56km through Japanese-controlled waters to summon help, carrying a message carved into a coconut by the future president. He was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for "extremely heroic conduct".
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