Veterans DayWednesday, November 11
Navy identifies Memphis sailor John Winter Martin, killed at Pearl Harbor
The 5AM Memphis team
If you're marking Veterans Day today, here's a Memphis name to know. The Navy has identified a Memphis sailor: Fireman 3rd Class John Winter Martin, 20, who was aboard the USS California during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack.
The Navy said the ship was hit by two torpedoes on the port side and a bomb on the upper deck. Martin's remains were never fully recovered. He was identified through DNA, dental and anthropological analysis, and he is among 11 service members recently identified.
Martin's identification, by the numbers
- 20
- years old when Martin was lost aboard the USS California
- 2
- torpedoes hit the ship's port side
- 11
- service members recently identified, Martin among them
Sources: WREG.com, Action News 5
- Pearl Harbor Day: Dec. 7
- The USS California returned to duty a year after the attack
- About 100 sailors and Marines died in the attack
Martin will be reinterred Dec. 6, 2026. Afterward, the Navy will end its effort to identify remains from the USS California and the USS West Virginia.
Dec. 6when Martin will be reinterred at the Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu
That's the day before Pearl Harbor Day on Dec. 7.
Sources: WREG.com, Action News 5
Sources: WREG.com, Action News 5