John William Finn

He kept firing despite repeated wounds

John William Finn was born in California in July 1909 and enlisted in the Navy in 1926. After aviation training he became an ordnanceman, working with the guns and ammunition carried by naval aircraft. His service included aircraft carriers, cruisers and shore stations in the Pacific, and he became a chief petty officer in 1935.

On 7 December 1941 he was serving at Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Japanese aircraft attacked the station before and during the assault on Pearl Harbor. Finn obtained a .50-calibre machine gun on an instruction mounting and set it up on the exposed aircraft parking area. He remained at the gun under repeated strafing attacks, returning fire while sustaining numerous wounds.

He continued until ordered to obtain medical attention. After treatment he returned to supervise the rearming of aircraft so that they could resume operations. His Medal of Honor recognized both his exposed defence of the station and his continued work despite his injuries. Admiral Chester Nimitz presented it to him aboard USS Enterprise in September 1942.

Finn was commissioned a temporary ensign in 1942 and continued wartime aviation service, including with Bombing Squadron 102. He joined USS Hancock in April 1945 and participated in Third Fleet operations against Japan. He reverted to his enlisted rate when he transferred to the Fleet Reserve in March 1947 and left active duty on 18 April. In September 1956 he moved to the Navy Retired List at his highest active-duty rank, lieutenant.

He and his wife Alice lived at Live Oak Springs near Pine Valley, California. They fostered Native American children, and he remained a familiar participant at veterans' events and Medal of Honor gatherings. Alice died in 1998. Finn died on 27 May 2010, aged one hundred, and was buried in the cemetery at Campo. A Navy destroyer was subsequently named USS John Finn in his honour.