During his time in the Navy, an incident occurred involving Kennedy, PT-109 and a Japanese destroyer, and it was from this collision that Kennedy Island received its name. Leaving the crew on the island, Kennedy and George Ross went to Naru Island, where there was a wrecked Japanese ship on the beach, along with some supplies. The next day, John F. Kennedy and the two men made their way back to Naru, where they showed him how to scratch a message into a coconut.