John L. Maguire was 21 when he enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve on August 27, 1942.  As a Gunner's Mate Third Class, he had to do maintenance on the various guns on the ship he was assigned to, as well as fire the guns in the event of combat. He was assigned to the ship PC-1261, a submarine chaser ship, and the ship was meant to escort landing craft to Utah beach during the Normandy invasion.  As his ship approached the beach, German coastal artillery began to open fire on the advancing ships.  The first barrage missed GM Maguire's ship, but the second one hit the starboard (right side) side of the ship.  After two minutes, the ship had rolled 90 degrees and the crewmen were ordered to abandon ship.  GM Maguire died during the invasion on June 6th, 1944, and was later buried at the Normandy American Cemetery.