John Martin

US Navy Veteran (1889-1920), Spanish American War and World War One. During the war he was a gunners mate 2nd class on USFS Olympia, Commodore Dewey's flagship of the seven-ship Asiatic Squadron, and at the Battle of Manila Bay. A native of Athens, Greece, he emigrated to the US in 1879 and enlisted in the Navy on Feb. 5, 1889 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. He became a naturalized US Citizen in 1905. Per the 1910 Census, he was a gunner's mate 1st class attached to the USS Virginia at Hampton Roads, VA. In 1915 he was attached to the Naval Training Station at Newport, RI where he remained until his retirement on August 27, 1920. Around that time he married his wife, Evangelina, also a native of Greece. In September 1920, he and his wife submitted an application for a passport to visit Greece for a stated two year visit. They apparently decided to relocate permanently to their homeland, where John died of a heart ailment in 1927 at the age of 63, survived by his wife. He is buried in Athens, Greece. Chief Gunner's Mate USN. [Service Number] 001418109, [Date of Enlistment] 02/05/1889