John William Finn: Pearl Harbor’s Medal of Honor Hero
John William Finn (24 July 1909 – 27 May 2010) was a sailor in the United States Navy who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. As a chief petty officer and aviation ordnanceman, he fired a machine gun from an exposed position throughout the 7 December 1941 attack despite being repeatedly wounded, earning the military’s highest decoration.
Early Life and Education
Born on 24 July 1909, in Compton, California, Finn left school after the seventh grade. He enlisted in the Navy in July 1926, shortly before his seventeenth birthday, and completed recruit training in San Diego. After a brief assignment with a ceremonial guard company, he attended General Aviation Utilities Training at Naval Station Great Lakes, graduating in December 1926. By April 1927 he was stationed at Naval Air Station North Island in the San Diego area, where he initially worked in aircraft repair before transitioning to aviation ordnanceman duties focused on anti-aircraft guns.
Career and Achievements
Finn served on multiple naval vessels including USS Lexington, USS Houston, USS Jason, USS Saratoga, and USS Cincinnati. He was promoted to chief petty officer on 5 June 1935 after only eight years of active duty, becoming the highest enlisted rank in the Navy at that time. As a chief, he served with patrol squadrons in San Diego, Washington, and Panama. By December 1941, Finn was stationed at Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay on Oahu, where he commanded twenty men responsible for maintaining the weapons of VP-11, a PBY Catalina flying boat squadron.
Notable Events and Milestones
On the morning of 7 December 1941, Finn heard gunfire while at his home about a mile from the aircraft hangars. A neighbor alerted him that he was needed at the squadron immediately. Upon arrival at the airbase, he found most of the PBYs already on fire and his men attempting to fight back using mounted machine guns. Finn took control of a .50 caliber machine gun, attached it to a movable tripod platform used for gunnery training, and positioned himself in an open area with a clear view of the attacking aircraft. He fired on Japanese planes for two hours, receiving 21 distinct wounds including a bullet through his right foot and an injury to his left shoulder that caused him to lose feeling in his left arm. Despite his injuries, he returned to the hangars later that day and helped arm the surviving American planes.
Finn was commissioned as an ensign in 1942 and served as a Limited Duty Officer. In 1947 he reverted to chief petty officer, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant with Bombing Squadron VB-102 aboard USS Hancock. He retired from the Navy as a lieutenant in September 1956.
Awards and Honors
Finn received the Medal of Honor, the United States military’s highest decoration, for his courage and valor at Pearl Harbor. He was formally presented with the decoration on 14 September 1942 by Admiral Chester Nimitz in a ceremony aboard USS Enterprise in Pearl Harbor. His was the first Medal of Honor awarded in World War II. On 25 March 2009, he attended National Medal of Honor Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, where he stood beside President Barack Obama during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and was later a guest at the White House.
Additional Resources
Finn lived on a 90-acre ranch in Live Oak Springs near Pine Valley, California from 1956 until shortly before his death. He and his wife became foster parents to five Native American children and were embraced by the Campo Band of Diegueño Mission Indians. At the time of his death on 27 May 2010, Finn was the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, the last living recipient from the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the last living United States Navy recipient of World War II. More detailed information about his life and service is available through Wikipedia and other biographical archives dedicated to Medal of Honor recipients and World War II history.
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