US Navy Yeoman 2nd Class John Hayden Christie Jr. was born in Pensacola, Florida on October 8, 1895, the son of John Hayden Christie Sr. (1862-1934) and Mary Edwina Quina (1867-1952). His father was born in Canada and supported his family as a stevedore. John Sr. went into business with B. Frank Rivers and they formed the John H. Christie Stevedore Company with an office in the American Bank Building. By 1916, his son John Jr. was working as a clerk for the L&N Railroad Company but the following year he had moved to the Gulf Transit Company.
Then on April 2, 1917, American found itself embroiled in World War I. As patriotism spread throughout the nation, John Jr. went out to the Pensacola Naval Base and enlisted at the age of 21 in the US Navy on July 3, 1917. After signing the papers and swearing in, he returned home to await further orders. His reporting instructions came on September 30, 1917, when he was ordered to report back to the naval base. There, he was given the rank of "apprentice seaman" and placed on a receiving ship. In those days a "receiving ship" was defined as an obsolete or unseaworthy ship moored at a navy yard and used for new recruits or men who were in transit between stations. While aboard the recruits were taught how to be sailors.
Perhaps because of his civilian clerking experience, he was promoted to 3rd Class Yeoman on June 30, 1918, with another promotion to 2nd Class close by. A yeoman in the Navy is defined as "a sailor who performs administrative and clerical duties." However, just as things were looking up for the young man, he developed a sore throat and a fever on Tuesday, October 1, 1918. Normally, no one would have paid much attention to this but at the time the Naval Base was in the throes of the horrendous "Spanish influenza" epidemic. To date, the military had been sending a large number of military personnel home to their families after they had died from the dreaded disease. World-wide more than 50 million would eventually succumb from the deadly virus.
To prevent the spreading of the disease to other military personnel, John was taken to his Uncle Emanuel Quina's house at 325 East Romana Street for treatment. But things began to deteriorate rapidly for the young Pensacolian. First, he began developing mahogany-colored spots that began on his cheekbones before turning blue then black and eventually spreading all over his extremities and torso. As his lungs filled with fluid he began hemorrhaging from his mucous membranes. Death followed quickly on Thursday October 3, at 3:30 PM from bacterial pneumonia. Cause of death was listed as "pneumonia," which was how so many of the Spanish influenza deaths were listed in those days.
Fortunately, even though his parents and family were living in Orange City, Texas at the time they were able to arrive on Wednesday, October 2 so were with him when he passed away. Afterwards, he was buried with military honors in St. Michael's Cemetery.
Comments