Name: Martin John Bohin Rank: Seaman Second Class Service No: 6071575 Service: USS John W. Brown, US Navy Date of Birth: November 29, 1920 Place of Birth: New Glasgow, Pictou Co., NS Date of Enlistment: July 16, 1942 Place of Enlistment: Boston, Massachusetts Address at Enlistment: 88 Webster Ave, Cambridge, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts Age at Enlistment: 21 Height: 5 feet, 7 ½ inches Complexion: Light Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Brown Occupation: Boston & Albany Railroad Co. Religion: Catholic Next of Kin: Rose Bonin (Mother), Cambridge, Mass. Date of Death: October 24, 1942 Cemetery: Corozal American Cemetery and Memorial, Panama Grave Reference: Plot D Row 9 Grave 10 Seaman Second Class Martin John Bohin was the son of Joseph Willard Bonin (1886-1966) and Rose Jane (Benoit) Bonin (circa 1890-1959). His parents were born in Pomquet, Antigonish Co., NS. His father was employed as a brakeman and trainman with the CNR (Canadian National Railway). Martin’s birth certificate records his surname as Bonin. Martin’s siblings included Anna Jane Bonin (1911-1988) and Joseph Willard Bonin Jr (1912-1964), born in Boston, Mass., George Arthur Bonin (1914-1980), and Rita M. (Bonin) Cone (1919-2010), born in Nova Scotia, and Doris Esther (Bonin) Haldoupis (1924-1976), born in Somerville, Mass. Martin’s sister Rita’s husband, Charles Francis Cone (1914–1965), served in the U.S. Coast Guard during WWII, holding the rank of Boatswain's Mate Chief Petty Officer (BTC), Service No. 202336. He served from July 15, 1936, to October 1, 1956. Martin’s sister Doris’s husband, Peter Constantine Haldoupis (1918–1964), also served during the war. He was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, Service No. 31029440, assigned to the 101st Ordnance Company from March 13, 1941, until August 19, 1945. Martin registered for the US Draft on February 16, 1942, in Cambridge, Middlesex Co., Mass. At the time he was working for the Boston & Albany Railroad Company. After enlisting in July of 1942 with the US Naval Reserve, his rating was changed to Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class (BM2c) on September 16, 1942. On September 24, 1942, he joined the Naval Armed Guard Center in South Brooklyn, New York. He served as a Seaman Second Class (S2c) aboard the Liberty Ship USS John W. Brown during its maiden voyage to the Persian Gulf during World War II. The declassified Armed Guard Log of the SS John Brown records the cause of Martin’s death. A bunk mate accidently shot him with a pistol he thought was unloaded. Martin was the only casualty aboard the SS John Brown which completed its subsequent missions without the loss of life of any of its crew. Seaman Second Class Bohin was buried at the Mount Hope Cemetery (Cementerio Monte Esperanza) in Colón, Panama and was reinterred at the Corozal American Cemetery near Panama City in 1979. The SS John W. Brown is one of only two Liberty ships still in operation today, and one of just three preserved as museum ships. Originally built as part of the United States Merchant Marine fleet during World War II, she served as a merchant vessel before spending many years as a vocational training ship for high school students in New York City. Her construction began on July 28, 1942, and she was launched just weeks later on Labor Day, September 7, at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland. Named in honor of John W. Brown, a Maine labor leader who died in 1941, the ship was part of a fleet of Liberty ships designed to be inexpensive and rapidly produced cargo steamers. These vessels became the backbone of a vast wartime supply chain, transporting troops, weapons, equipment, and essential goods to every theater of war. Remarkably, two-thirds of all cargo shipped from the USA during the conflict traveled aboard Liberty ships. Though approximately 200 were lost to enemy attacks or maritime accidents, including collisions, groundings, and fires, the sheer number of Liberty ships ensured that the sea lanes remained open and vital supplies continued to reach their destinations.

Sources: findagrave US Battle Monuments Commission SS John Brown background photo: Corozal American Cemetery, Panama