John Martin Poyer

John Martin Poyer (1861 – May 12, 1922) was the Naval Governor of American Samoa, from March 1, 1915, to June 10, 1919. He held the longest term of any American governor appointed over the territory by the United States Government. A Naval Academy graduate, Poyer served in numerous positions and retired in 1906 on account of failing health; however, the navy recalled him to service in 1915 to serve as governor. During 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.

Poyer served as Governor of American Samoa during World War I. While the territory was not directly involved in the war, Poyer focused on enhancing the education and public health systems. In his honor, a Junior High School was named after him. He arrived in American Samoa shortly after a devastating hurricane that destroyed much of the development in the Manuʻa Islands. In 1915, Poyer evacuated over 50% of Manua’s population to Tutuila to await the harvest of new crops, which resulted in many residents choosing to remain in Tutuila, significantly reducing Manua’s population. In 1918, a deadly influenza epidemic struck Western Samoa, killing one-fifth of the population on both Upolu and Savaiʻi. Governor Poyer implemented a strict quarantine on all incoming items from Western Samoa, with mail being delivered well outside the Pago Pago Harbor. This decisive action resulted in zero influenza casualties in American Samoa. Poyer was highly popular, and the Samoan people overwhelmingly wanted him to remain in office when his term ended.

Life and career Early life Poyer was born in Indiana in 1861. This action caused American Samoa to be one of the few places in the world to not suffer any flu deaths.

Poyer, the longest-serving naval governor of American Sāmoa, is perhaps best remembered for founding the New Government High School in 1918 at Anua (later named the Poyer School). Built at a cost of US$25,000, it operated for nearly three decades and educated many of the territory’s leading political and business figures of the mid-20th century.

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