John Martin Poyer

John Martin Poyer (* 1861 in Indiana ; † May 12, 1922 in Washington, DC ) was an American naval officer. Between 1915 and 1919 he was the military governor of American Samoa .

Career

John Poyer attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis ( Maryland ) from 1879 . In the following years he served as an officer on various ships and naval bases in the United States Navy . In 1906 he resigned from the Navy for health reasons.

In 1915 he was reactivated. Between March 1, 1915 and June 10, 1919 he was the successor of Charles Armijo Woodruff Governor of American Samoa. He made a name for himself in 1918 when he quarantined the entire island during that year's global flu wave to prevent the disease from being introduced. The result was that no one in American Samoa died from the flu. For this he was awarded the Navy Cross . Poyer's tenure as governor is the longest so far in this outlying area.

After the end of his time as governor, he left the navy for good with the rank of commander (about lieutenant colonel in the army). Poyer spent his old age in the federal capital Washington, where he died on May 12, 1922. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery , Virginia .

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personal data
SURNAME	Poyer, John Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American naval officer
DATE OF BIRTH	1861
PLACE OF BIRTH	Indiana
DATE OF DEATH	May 12, 1922
Place of death	Washington, DC