Career
Foss joined in the United States Navy in January, 1897. He served as a seaman on the light cruiser United States Ship Marblehead. On May 11, 1898, during combat off the northwest coast of Cuba, the crew of the United States Ship Marblehead pulled the main communications cable over the bow of their boat.
Despite being under heavy fire, they severed the cable.
Foss finished the job with a hacksaw. After the war Foss moved to Hingham, Massachusetts and found work at an ammunition depot.
He became the superintendent of the Fort Hill Cemetery and on September 1, 1937, while working at the cemetery, Foss died of heart disease. He was buried in the Fort Hill Cemetery Hingham, Massachusetts.