Lieutenant John W Finn, USN, (Retired), was awarded the Medal of Honor for his "extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty" while serving as Aviation Ordnanceman Chief Petty Officer during the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. His specific award was for his actions to repel the enemy while at Naval Air Station, Kanoehe Bay. The following question and answer sessions were conducted by a museum staff member over the phone from mid May to mid June to honor John's then upcoming 100th birthday on July 24, 2009.
What was it like joining the Navy in 1926?
John quickly responded "I was born in the Compton district of Los Angeles, California and enlisted in the U.S. Navy when I was seventeen years old." He continued, "I was just a curly-headed boy when reporting to the Naval Training Center at San Diego, CA for basic training. I felt proud during an inspection towards the end when the Chief said to me, ‘that’s a pretty good sea bag.’" Upon completion of his basic training at San Diego, John became part of the Guard Company, which he really didn’t want to do as it had him remaining at the Training Center for "another three months." John continued, "No recruit wants to hang around after graduation though it was a nice honor. Basic Training did make a Navy man out of me, though I was frightened at first." After brief training at the General Aviation Utilities School at Great Lakes, he found himself back in California at the Naval Air Station at North Island in the summer of 1927 and was ordered to the Air Wing shop, working on aircraft repairs.
What was this initial duty station like fresh out of boot camp?
John responded, "All the time, while in the early days, I liked guns and was fascinated how they were made and loved to inspect the parts, especially the Lewis Machine Guns. I also loved to shoot guns whenever it was possible. In fact, I really wanted to be a Gunner’s Mate." At North Island, John ended up being trained and worked as an Aviation Mechanic, a job which was the last on the "tough, mean" Yeoman’s list who was assigning jobs to the returning seaman. While there, John excelled in doing "a good job" by the chief. His love of guns though drove him back to wanting to be a Gunner’s Mate, which was against his Chief’s advice, Chief Ripley. John quoted his chief, "Why leave such good duty?" After a period of time and passing an informal test of him taking machine guns apart and putting them back together, under the supervision of a young lieutenant, he was assigned to the Ordnance Department at North Island and became rated an Aviation Ordnanceman.
What were some of your duty stations before the war and was it easy to advance to Chief Petty Officer?
During John’s time in the Navy, he advanced rather quickly to Chief, making the rank in 1935. On every advancement test from Third Class to Chief, he "passed on the first time." For his sea duty, John served with various squadrons on board USS Lexington (CV-2), which John deemed as making "so much noise" during the flight exercises. Of note, he also was on board USS Houston (CA-30) while she was the Asiatic Flagship and had a chance to observe the Second Sino-Japanese War. John had additional sea duty on board USS Jason (AV-2), USS Saratoga (CV-3), and USS Cincinnati (CL-6), where in John’s words, "I served three long years." For shore duty, he served at Naval Air Station, Coco Solo, Panama, where he enjoyed a "very nice shore tour with his wife" and at Naval Air Station, Sand Point Washington, with subsequent temporary duty at Naval Air Base at Sitka, Alaska. This duty appealed to John very much. On being asked about being advanced so quickly, he joyfully announced that "it was all due to luck." With enthusiasm, he added, "I couldn’t believe it, me being so young and all. When I finally reported to the Aviation Ordnanceman’s School for training as a Chief at Norfolk, everyone was looking at me for the answers instead of me attending the classes. It was just odd."
Speaking of this pre-War Navy, what moment stands out as being the most interesting?
John immediately replied, "Besides marrying and being with my beloved wife, Alice, I loved working on the new Navy airplanes of this time, the PBYs, which were finally made of metal, not wood." He also pointed out a poignant memory. It was while he served on board USS Houston (CA-30), the Asiatic Flagship during the 1930s. John saw first-hand the action of the Japanese while they were attacking the Chinese during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In his words, "Basically, they didn’t really give a damn during their attacks. They were so bold." John and his wife eventually became stationed at Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Upon realizing the Japanese were attacking Pearl Harbor, what were your initial thoughts?
"Well, I thought they were doing a fantastic job in wrecking the place. They really knew what they were doing and were studying to perform this attack for years. They were doing really well, especially with our carriers being out of the way," John replied. He was only a mile away from the Naval Air Station at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii at his base residence when the Japanese attacked. Upon reaching the Naval Air Station, he manned a .50 caliber machine gun, made an improvised gun mount, and fought back while at an exposed section of a parking ramp.
Though wounded and treated for your injuries, you returned to help and ensure planes were being rearmed. What were your thoughts during this time?
John said, "Lot of men were shot during this time, a lot of shot-up men. I was angry." At Kaneohe Bay, with 19 men shot, he deemed it better than being at Pearl Harbor, where more than 2,000 men met their fate. He added, "Well, we had ordnance gun crews, but no stationary gun mounts. We could have done a better job if we had these mounts." Proudly, he stated, "Every man was determined to find a machine gun to fight back and did what he could to fight and turn them away."
Following the Japanese attack, how did your fellow sailors feel as a whole?
"We felt that we didn’t have a defense because they didn’t have any gun mounts," John responded. He added, "Previously, a few months before the attack, I informed my superiors that we didn't have enough gun mounts. Unfortunately, my advice wasn’t taken into consideration. I remembered what they could do against the Chinese." During battle, John received approximately 21 wounds, though he seemed to "hardly notice" due to heavy enemy machine gun fire during the attack. He ended this question by saying, "The men felt proud as they fought them off."
What was it like being a commissioned officer and rising to the rank of Lieutenant? Do you have any interesting stories from the enlisted rank to officer during this period?
John said, "Well, it was an interesting time as I found it a bit tasking to be the Officer of the Deck on board the carrier USS Hancock (CV 19)." He added,"I was never good at math, and being the Officer of the Deck involved a lot of math. It was stressful for me." He then stated that he would have preferred to remain a chief. Lastly, he said, "Being an officer was completely different than being a chief. An officer had tremendous responsibility to his men." After thirty-years of service, John retired from the Navy in 1956.
How did your family feel about you receiving the Medal of Honor?
John said, "This day was also a tragic day for my family," he continued, "My baby brother died on the exact same day I was awarded the medal."
How did it make you feel receiving the Award?
On getting the Medal from Admiral Chester W. Nimitz nine months later on board USS Enterprise (CV-6), John said, " I was frightened getting the Medal at the ceremony, where Admiral William F. Halsey was also in attendance." He then went on to say, "These kinds of questions are hard for me to answer, but I know I was proud not to go to Washington D.C. to receive the Medal of Honor from President Roosevelt. I wasn’t really a fan of his." John reflected then said while slightly laughing, "A lot of young kids come up and ask me how I won the Medal of Honor. It’s not something you win."
If you enlisted in the Navy today, what would you be most interested in?
Immediately John responded, "I would be doing the same thing when I first came in. I left school after completing eighth grade. I couldn’t do anything with math. When I was seventeen, I joined the Navy. I never wanted to be burden to my family. After finishing my training, I realized I was born to have done what I was doing in the US Navy. To this day, I still feel the same."
Do you have any advice for sailors, or any service members, just enlisting today?
John stated that he didn’t have any prolific advice to young service members. He did respond by saying, "They should still maintain the American ideals, respect the flag, and learn to work. No matter what age they are -- the youth of today should respect their parents. Work to the best of your ability. Life isn’t a bed of roses, but one should keep one faith to complete a good job. Upon that, the young sailors of today will achieve."
