Article continues below advertisementJoseph P. Kennedy Jr. Died During World War IISource: MEGATatiana Schlossberg's death triggered the renewed talks about the 'Kennedy curse.'The Kennedy curse, as what the public has called the tragedies involving the members of the Kennedy family, dates back decades and begins with the death of Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.The first son of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy died on August 12, 1944, when the B-17 bomber he was piloting blew up midair during on a secret World War II mission. He was 29 years old.