Date(s): October 16, 2011. Album by Nancy Littleton. Photos by Nancy Littleton. 1 - 17 of 17 Total. 4202 Visits.
1 John Finn's sign at the driveway, it's hard to see but there's a Medal of Honor on it.
So, we are very humbled and proud to find our future home in such a revered place. So many coincidences pointed us there, one after the other. I wonder if my Dad met him during the war, as they both served in Panama among other places. My Uncle was in a submarine in Pearl Harbor when it was hit, I have no doubts at all that he met Lt. Finn there.
I feel a connection to this place.
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2 For extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kanoehe Bay, on 7 December 1941, Lieutenant Finn promptly secured and manned a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machine-gun strafing fire. Although painfully wounded many times, he continued to man this gun and to return the enemy's fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own personal safety. It was only by specific orders that he was persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention.
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3 Following first-aid treatment, although obviously suffering much pain and moving with great difficulty, he returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the rearming of returning planes. His extraordinary heroism and conduct in this action were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
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4 From 1956 until shortly before his death, Finn resided on a 90-acre ranch in Live Oak Springs, near Pine Valley, California. He and his wife became foster parents to five Native American children, causing him to be embraced by the Campo Band of Diegueño Mission Indians, a tribe of Kumeyaay people in San Diego. After his death he was buried at the Campo Indian Reservation cemetery.
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5 Of that day, John has since remembered, "I never saw myself as a hero, I was just so damn mad, I guess I didn't have enough sense to be frightened or scared. I didn't know if it would do any good, a machine gun on the ground isn't much against an airplane, but I refused to just sit there and do nothing. I had to stick it back to them."
6 He dressed hurriedly, and drove to the naval station. At first, he observed the base’s 20 mph speed limit. But then, “I heard a plane come roaring in from astern of me,” he recalled decades later in an interview with Larry Smith for “Beyond Glory,” an oral history of Medal of Honor recipients.
“As I glanced up, the guy made a wing-over, and I saw that big old red meatball, the rising sun insignia, on the underside of the wing. Well, I threw it into second and it’s a wonder I didn’t run over every sailor in the air station.”
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7 On September 11, 2001 John Finn was on his way from his home in California to a convention in Boston. He was only 155 miles from New York City when he endured the second major tragedy his Nation would suffer in his long life. The latter was an event Mr. Finn proclaimed even worse than Pearl Harbor.
Too old now to fight back (anyone who knows John won't believe that, of course), he said: "I do hope to God we hunt down, find, and kill the people who are responsible for this awful act. I am all for retaliation, but at the same time I hate to think of the loss of good American youth, and the casualties this time will be even more."
8 PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii Dec. 12, 2007 Medal of Honor recipient Lt. John Finn, Ret, pays his respect to the Sailors and Marines killed aboard USS Arizona during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Finn received the Medal of Honor in recognition of heroism and distinguished service during the Japanese attack.
As of October 2007, at age 98, Finn is the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient and is also the only living Pearl Harbor Medal of Honor recipient. A chief petty officer at the time, Finn was stationed at Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay. During the first attack by the Japanese aircraft, Finn took control of a .50 caliber machine gun post and continued to fire on the attacking planes despite getting hit numerous times by enemy strafing fire.
9 Reno, Nevada Pearl Harbor Reunion
10 GULF OF ALASKA, June 24, 2009
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis steams across the Gulf of Alaska as weapons department personnel prepare for a photo exercise. The photo exercise was to commemorate the 100th birthday of John Finn, a medal of honor recipient and Naval Aviation Ordinance men.
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11 SAN DIEGO, May 24, 2008
Medal of Honor recipients, top left, Marine Corps Cpl. (ret) Hershel Woodrow 'Woody' Williams, Army 1st Lt. (ret) Vernon J. Baker, Army Staff Sgt. (ret) Walter D. Ehlers, Army 1st Lt. (ret) Charles Patrick Murray Jr., Army 2nd Lt. (ret) Van T. Barfoot, Navy Lt. (ret) John Finn and Marine Corps Pfc. Arthur (ret) J. Jackson pose together before an awards ceremony held in the hangar bay aboard the USS Midway.
The seven recipients received the Midway American Patriot Award and The National World War II Museum's American Spirit Award during the black-tie gala, "Beyond the Call of Duty."
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12 Guard Duty 1926
13 Very blurry, sailors lining the highway as far as the eye can see as the motorcade takes his body to the cemetery.
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14 Indians digging his grave at the Indian cemetery in Campo.
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15 Moving head stone into place.
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17 4th of July weekend, we'd just arrived and attended a pot luck at the VFW, it was very special.
I have loved viewing all this information honoring John W. Finn. He was like an adopted father to me, when he and Alice took me in, during the autumn of 1975; to live in their bunkhouse and work on their ranch training their horses. - Registered Nurse Anastasia Savage-Ealy t, Wed, 24 Aug 2016 4:03PM
