was given up as lost, at least an air reconnaissance was later conducted. When it was unsuccessful, a memorial service was held at the motor torpedo boat squadron's forward operating base at Rendova while the crew was still marooned on the islands in the vicinity of Japanese-held Kolombagara Island. Solomon Islanders Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana are portrayed as random natives, when in fact they were dispatched by the coastwatcher, Reg Evans, to find the sailors. The film shows Ensign Ross first suggesting the idea of using a coconut for a message, using a knife to carve it. Gasa later claimed to have suggested the idea and to have sent Kumana to pluck a fresh coconut. The actors playing Gasa and Kumana were not credited, though the senior native is mentioned by name when the large canoe arrives. The scene showing the rescue of ambushed Marines actually occurred after the sinking of the PT 109, when Kennedy had been given command of PT 59. It was an older model 77-foot Elco PT boat that had had its torpedo launchers removed and was reconfigured into a heavily armed gunboat at Kennedy's request, as U.S. Navy Mark 8 torpedoes of that era were notoriously inaccurate and Kennedy had already provisionally mounted a .37 mm antitank gun on the bow of the 109 before its loss. It was the 59's exceptional firepower that allowed it to be successful in its rescue of Marines pinned down in close quarters on Choiseul. ReceptionPT 109 was released to lukewarm critical response, although Robertson received good reviews. , Rotten Tomatoes rates the film at 64% approval. One review comments that "One of the screenplay's pluses ... is its concentration on the minor but still deadly activities that were undertaken by thousands of men during World War II. Not everyone was involved with the major assaults; many spent their time risking their lives in places and situations of which most people are totally unaware, and it's a nice change of pace to see this aspect of the war dramatized." The film was nominated for the 2006 American Film Institute list AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers. Canadian release In some Canadian cities, such as Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, PT 109 premiered in theaters on November 22, 1963, the day that Kennedy was assassinated. Home media Warner Home Video released the film on VHS on February 9, 1983, as part of its "A