Martin J. Maher was born on July 12, 1883, in Binghamton, New York. He changed his name to John Francis Burnes and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on June 17, 1904, and attended Recruit Instruction at Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., and then at Marine Barracks, U.S. Naval Academy, Maryland, from June to December 1904. His first assignment was on guard duty at Marine Battalion, Camp Elliott, in the Panama Canal Zone from December 1904 to April 1905, followed by a short deployment with the Marine Battalion aboard the auxiliary cruiser USS Dixie at Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic from May to June 1905. Sgt Burnes next served on guard duty with the Marine Barracks at the Norfolk Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia, from June 1905 to January 1906, and then on recruiting duty at Ashville, North Carolina, from January to June 1906. He then returned to the Marine Barracks at the Norfolk Navy Yard as a Patrol Sergeant from July to September 1906, followed by service as Company First Sergeant with Company C, 1st Provisional Regiment in Cuba from October 1906 to January 1909. He served as First Sergeant of Company C, Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., from February to April 1909, and he then sailed to the Philippines aboard the auxiliary cruiser USS Buffalo from April to July 1909. His next assignment was as First Sergeant of Company C, First Regiment of the Marine Brigade on the Philippine Islands from July 1909 to October 1910, followed by service as First Sergeant of the Marine Detachment aboard the armored cruiser USS Saratoga (ACR-2) from October 1910 to March 1912. He served as First Sergeant of Company B with the Marine Barracks at the Marine Island Navy Yard in Vallejo, California, from May to June 1912, and then as First Sergeant of Company K, Recruit Depot, at the Marine Barracks at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from June to August 1912. His next assignment was as Acting Sergeant Major and Provost Sergeant of the City of Leon with the 1st Provisional Regiment in Nicaragua during the Nicaraguan Occupation from September 1912 to January 1913. He briefly served with the Marine Battalion at Camp Elliott, Panama, and then Mare Island, California, from January to June 1913, and he then deployed to the Philippine Islands where he served as First Sergeant of Company B, First Regiment, from July to September 1913. He served as First Sergeant of Company B with the Marine Detachment, American Legation, in Peking, China, from October 1913 to May 1914, followed by service as First Sergeant of the 37th Company as it traveled from Peking, China, to the Marine Barracks, Navy Yard at Vallejo, California; Marine Barracks, Navy Yard Norfolk, Virginia; aboard the transport ship USS Hancock (AP-3), with the Fifth Regiment at Santo Domingo, Haiti; and finally to the Marine Barracks at the New York Navy Yard in New York City from May to December 1914. His next assignment was as First Sergeant of the 37th Company and Acting Sergeant Major of the Post with the Marine Barracks at the New York Navy Yard from December 1914 to June 1915. He served as Acting Sergeant Major of the Fleet Regiment aboard the battleship USS Wyoming (BB-32) from June to September 1915, and then as First Sergeant of Company I and Sergeant Major of the Recruit Depot in Norfolk and then at Port Royal, South Carolina, from September 1915 to June 1917. He was promoted to 1st Sergeant on May 11, 1907, to Sergeant Major on September 28, 1916, and to Marine Gunner (Chief Warrant Officer) on March 24, 1917. After the United States entry into World War I, Marine Gunner Burnes was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on June 2, 1917, and then to Captain the next day, on June 3, 1917. He served with 1st Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment in France during World War I, and was badly wounded during the Battle of Belleau Wood on June 12, 1918. Captain Burnes died of his wounds 2 days later on June 14, 1918. He was originally buried in France, but his remains were later moved to Arlington National Cemetery. Capt Burnes was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the Army Distinguished Service Cross, a Silver Star Citation (which later became the Silver Star Medal), and the Purple Heart. He was the first enlisted Marine to be promoted to Warrant rank in the U.S. Marine Corps. The Clemson-class destroyer USS John Francis Burnes (DD-299) was named in his honor.

His Navy Cross Citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism while serving with the Sixth Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F. in action in the attack on Bois-de-Belleau, France, 12 June 1918. Captain Burnes was badly wounded, but completed the disposition of his platoon under violent fire. The injuries which he sustained in the performance of this self-sacrificing duty later caused his death.