However, unlike The Phil Silvers Show, which was set in peacetime, McHale's Navy was set during World War II, although much of what takes place is, in some ways, as if it were peacetime with the crew permanently stationed in one location and concerns about peacetime duties rather than fighting a war. At the time of the series, then-President John F. Kennedy was known as the wartime commander of PT-109. A popular book, PT 109: John F. Kennedy in WWII by Robert J. Donovan came out the previous year and PT-109 was referenced in the episode "Jolly Wally".
