John William Finn, Medal of Honor Recipient for heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor

Lieutenant John William Finn is a retired officer of the United States Navy who received the Medal of Honor in recognition of his heroism when the Japanese attacked the Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station on December 7th, 1941.

As a chief aviation ordnanceman, he was in charge of twenty men whose primary task was to maintain the weapons of a PBY Catalina flying boat squadron. On the morning of December 7, 1941, Finn was at his home, about a mile from the aircraft hangars, when he heard the sound of gunfire. He quickly drove to the hangars seeing Japanese planes in the sky on his way to the Naval Station and found the airbase was under attack, with most of the PBYs already on fire.

His men were trying to fight back by using the machine guns mounted in the PBYs, either by firing from inside the flaming planes or by detaching the guns and mounting them on improvised stands. One of the first things he did was take control of a machine gun from his squadron's painter. "I said, 'Alex, let me take that gun'...knew that I had more experience firing a machine gun than a painter."

Finn then found a movable platform used for gunnery training, attached the .50 caliber machine gun, and pushed the platform into an open area, from which he had a clear view of the attacking aircraft. He fired on the Japanese planes for the next two hours, even after being seriously wounded, until the attack had ended. In total, he received 21 distinct wounds, including a bullet through the foot and an injury which rendered his left arm numb.

 Despite his injuries, he returned to the hangars later that day, after receiving medical treatment, and helped arm the surviving American planes.

For these actions, Finn was formally presented with the Medal of Honor on September 14, 1942, by Admiral Chester Nimitz. During the remainder of World War II, he served as a Limited Duty Officer Ensign and eventually as a Lieutenant with Bombing Squadron VB-102 and aboard the USS Hancock. He retired from the Navy in the rank of Lieutenant in September 1956.

In addition to the Medal of Honor, Finn's decorations include the Purple Heart; Navy Good Conduct Medal with two bronze stars; American Defense Service Medal; American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; and the Navy Occupation Service Medal 

 At age 100, Finn is the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient and is also the only living Pearl-Harbor-Day Medal of Honor recipient. He currently lives in on a ranch in Live Oak Springs, near Pine Valley, California.

John is a close friend of Home of the Brave-we remember his heroic actions through out interactive exhibit found in our very own Home of the Brave Museum!