Ed Maguire got into the industrial supply business with his father prior to World War II. He had been working for the ordnance district in Philadelphia, and he had just resigned that position when he was drafted into the Army in March 1943. He served as part of a 7-man squad in a newly-formed bomb disposal unit in Europe during the war. Ed recently told his wife Betty about some of the finer points of his army service when they visited WUSF's Tampa Studio.

Photo: Ed organized the last reunion of the bomb disposal squads in 1971. The yellow hats he and Betty are wearing were made for the servicemen and family members attending the reunion, held in Baltimore that year. Ed added that he's the last surviving member of his squad.