John James Bettencourt was born on May 28, 1925. He served in the United States Naval Reserve as a Motor Machinist Mate 2nd Class during World War II. He was aboard the USS LST 507 and was killed during the Exercise Tiger--one of the large-scale rehearsals for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. This took place in April 1944 in Slapton Sands, Devon in the UK. An Allied naval convoy involved in the exercise was attacked by German submarines, and coordination and communication problems resulted in friendly fire deaths. At least 749 American servicemen were killed. Because of the impending invasion of Normandy, the incident was highly classified and the full story did not come out until years later after the war. MOMM2 Bettencourt is now buried in the Saint Marys Cemetery, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, USA.