WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Malden) announced legislation to rename the Woburn Post Office after John “Jack” Maguire, a patrolman in the Woburn Police Department who was killed in the line of duty last year, passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Similar legislation co-sponsored by Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.) has already passed the U.S. Senate.
Officer Maguire, a 34-year veteran of the Woburn police force, was fatally shot in the line of duty when he responded to a robbery at a Kohl’s department store on December 26, 2010. Senators Kerry and Brown and Rep. Markey's legislation would dedicate the post office located at 462 Washington Street to Officer Maguire’s service. The name of the post office will be changed to the “Officer John Maguire Post Office Building.”
“A true hometown hero, Officer Maguire died protecting nearby shoppers, employees, and residents from an armed criminal,” said Rep. Markey. “It was a tragedy for his family, the Woburn Police Department, and the entire community to have lost such a dedicated and honorable father, husband, and colleague. With the renaming of this post office in memory of Officer Maguire, we honor his service and ensure Woburn residents will always remember his bravery and sacrifice.”
Video of Rep. Markey’s remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives can be found HERE .
Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin and Acting Woburn Police Chief Richard Kelley requested Senator Kerry introduce the Senate bill to name the U.S. post office in honor of Officer Maguire.
“The City of Woburn is extremely grateful to Representative Markey, Senator Kerry and Senator Brown for their bipartisan effort to move our request to name the U.S. post office located at 462 Washington Street — just a few hundred yards across the street from where he was shot and killed in the line of duty — in honor of Woburn Police Officer John ‘Jack’ Maguire,” said Mayor Galvin.
Officer Jack Maguire had celebrated his 60th birthday three days before his death and had given notice of his intention to retire in October 2011. He was born and raised in the City of Woburn, Massachusetts. Officer Maguire was the son of the late Thomas J. Maguire, Jr., the Woburn Police Chief from 1951 to 1978, and he was wearing his father’s badge number 23 at the time of his death. He was the husband of Desiree Maguire and the father of Bryan, Tara, and Sean Maguire. Officer Maguire was a three-decade veteran of the Woburn Police Department and the first to be killed in the line of duty in the Department’s 164-year history.
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