This is USN Ensign John Pearson in 1924. He had just graduated from Annapolis fifth in his class, and was an outstanding athlete. He was stationed on board a new Battleship called the USS Colorado. He had just received permission to compete in the 1924 Paris Olympics.
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The picture is from his 1924 passport which was stamped on. “John Pearson competed in gymnastics at both the 1924 and 1928 Olympics, competing in all nine events in 1924 and all seven men’s events in 1928. His best individual finishes were =10th in 1924 rope climbing and =26th on pommeled horse in 1928. Pearson graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1923, and became a career Naval officer, eventually reaching rear admiral. He initially specialized in airplane design engineering.”
He later designed aircraft carrier outboard elevators. Before then elevators where in the middle of the flight deck, and could not be used when planes were taking off or landing. He flight tested American made jet aircraft before WW2 which where not in production until after the war. After his retirement in the Navy he played a major role in manned space flight before it ever happened.
Note; Duty on board a battleship is not the best place to train for the Olympics. He is possibly a distant cousin that my grandfather was named after.