John Martin Poyer

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John Martin Poyer
Warren Jay Terhune
Personal details
Born1861
Navy Cross

John Martin Poyer (1861 – May 12, 1922) was the

1918 flu pandemic, Poyer quarantined the territory to stop the spread of the pandemic to American Samoa. Because of his actions, no deaths occurred in American Samoa, and he received the Navy Cross. Upon his final retirement, Poyer had reached the rank of commander
.

Life and career

Early life

Poyer was born in Indiana in 1861.[1] He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy from Wisconsin in October 1879.[2]

Naval career

Poyer became an

USS Saint Paul.[2] He became a lieutenant in May 1898.[2] Poyer retired from active duty on June 30, 1906, on account of ill-health as a lieutenant commander, but was brought back to active duty to become Governor of American Samoa.[3][4]

Governorship

On March 1, 1915, Poyer relieved

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Logan of the New Zealand Army, administrator of Western Samoa, cut off communications with American Samoa.[5]
For his leadership in preventing the spread of Spanish influenza, Poyer received the Navy Cross.

Poyer transferred command of American Samoa to

Warren Jay Terhune on June 10, 1919, ending his governorship. His term is the longest of any naval governor of American Samoa.[5] After his retirement, Poyer lived in Washington, D.C. until his death.[3] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[8]

Navy Cross Citation

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Commander John Martin Poyer, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility as Governor of American Samoa, for wise and successful administration of his office and especially for the extraordinarily successful measures by which American Samoa was kept absolutely immune from the epidemic of influenza at a time when in the neighboring islands of the Samoan group more than 10,000 deaths occurred, and when the percentage of deaths throughout the Polynesian Islands as a group, is reported to have ranged from 30 to 40 per cent of the population[9]


References

  1. United States Government Printing Office
    . p. 473.
  2. ^ a b c d Hamersly, Lewis Randolph (1902). The Records of Living Officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps: With a History of Naval Operations During the Rebellion of 1861–5, and a List of the Ships and Officers Participating in the Great Battles. J.M. Carroll. p. 216.
  3. ^ a b "Obituary 1 – No Title". The New York Times. May 14, 1922. p. 26. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  4. United States Government Printing Office
    . p. 178.
  5. ^ a b c d "Commander John Martin Poyer: March 1, 1915 – June 10, 1919". Government of American Samoa. 2009. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  6. ^ Sims, Keith (September 23, 2009). "The Spanish Flu". Greene County Daily World. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  7. ^ Okin, Peter Oliver (January 2012) The Yellow Flag of Quarantine: An Analysis of the Historical and Prospective Impacts of Socio-Legal Controls Over Contagion. Doctoral dissertation, University of South Florida, p. 232
  8. ^ Burial Detail: Poyer, John M – ANC Explorer
  9. ^ "Navy: The Culture That You Take With You". USNI Blog. February 5, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
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