John Edward Maguire was radioman, one of the 13 crew members of torpedo boat PT-109, skippered by John Fitzgerald Kennedy in WWII, when it was sunk by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri in August 1943.

The 11 survivors clung to PT-109’s bow section as it drifted slowly south.

By 2 p.m., it was apparent that the hull was taking on water and would soon sink, so the men decided to swim for land. Japanese camps were on all the nearby large islands, so they chose the tiny deserted Plum Pudding Island, southwest of Kolombangara. They placed their lantern and shoes on one of the timbers that had been used as a gun mount and began kicking together to propel it. Kennedy, who had been on the Harvard University swim team, used a life jacket strap clenched between his teeth to tow his badly burned machinist mate, Patrick McMahon. It took four hours to reach their destination, 3.5 miles away.

The island was only 100 yards in diameter, with no food or water, and the crew had to hide from passing Japanese barges. Kennedy swam to Naru and Olasana islands, a round trip of about 2.5 miles, in search of help and food. He then led his men to Olasana Island, which had coconut trees and drinkable water.

Maguire later worked in Kennedy’s congressional and presidental campaigns and when he was elected president, John Maguire was appointed US marshal for the Middle District of Florida, a position he held for nine years. He once said of Kennedy “He was my commanding officer, my president and my friend. I’ll never forget him.”