John O'Brien, a Navy veteran who has built more than 80 homes in Coronado over nearly four decades, received the Vice Admiral Edward H. Martin Distinguished Community Service Award on Sunday, Aug. 23, at Concert in the Park.

Mayor John Duncan presented the honor before thousands of attendees.

"And now, honest to God, to tell me I'm receiving an award named after my hero, Ed Martin? This is very heartwarming for me, and one of the greatest honors of my life," O'Brien told the Coronado Times.

The award, created in 2021 by then-City Manager Blair King, honors a current Coronado resident and former military member who exemplifies sustained service to both country and community. Past recipients include Carrie Downey, Tom Crosby, Chuck Lucas, Jim Jamison and John Sexton. A Coronado Chamber of Commerce committee handles nominations, and a City Council sub-committee selects the winner.

O'Brien graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1969 and arrived in Coronado the same week the Coronado Bridge opened that August. His first assignment was aboard the USS Rogers (DD-876), where he completed two Vietnam tours as a gunnery officer providing gun support for Marines. He later served as officer in charge of PTF 22, a Vietnam-era PT boat and one of the last wooden boats in the U.S. Navy, at Coastal River Squadron One in Coronado.

After leaving the service, O'Brien started in commercial real estate with Coldwell Banker Commercial in Newport Beach before returning to Coronado in 1989 as a residential builder. Through his companies Flagship Properties and Flagg Coastal Homes, he has designed and built homes across the city with a signature coastal style. In 2014, Coastal Living magazine selected one of his Sunset Park properties as its national Showhouse, an event that drew 5,000 visitors and raised money for the Navy SEAL Foundation.

His civic involvement runs deep.

O'Brien has served on the Affordable Housing Commission, the Bayfront Zoning Committee, both Residential Standards Improvement Committees, the Historic Review Commission (including a term as chairman) and the Airport Land Use Advisory Committee. Last year he donated hundreds of small American flags for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to distribute at Memorial Day services in Star Park, sponsored by VFW Post 2422.

O'Brien knew the award's namesake personally. Vice Admiral Edward H. Martin (1931–2014) was shot down over Vietnam in 1967 and held as a prisoner of war at the Hanoi Hilton for six years before his release in 1973. He went on to serve as Commander of the U.S. Sixth Fleet and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air Warfare before retiring in 1989. Martin and his wife, Sherry, were members of Christ Church in Coronado, where O'Brien got to know them.

After learning of his selection, O'Brien ordered a replica POW/MIA bracelet from the National League of POW Families in Washington, D.C., inscribed "LCDR EDWARD MARTIN USN / 7-9-1967 RELEASED 3-4-1973." He said he intends to wear it daily for the year he holds the award.

O'Brien now volunteers as a docent at the newly opened Navy SEAL Museum across the bay in San Diego and continues to host an annual Vietnam Veterans Day reception at Flagg's Coronado offices, a tradition since 2022.