Qualla: John William Finn

John William Finn: Introduction

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit RightCowLeftCoast, CC BY-SA 4.0. On the morning of December 7, 1941, a neighbor knocked on John Finn's door near Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay and told him he was needed at the squadron. He drove toward the hangars catching sight of Japanese planes on the way, found his PBY Catalinas already burning on the ramp, and got behind a machine gun in an exposed position. He stayed there throughout the attack, firing despite being wounded again and again. He was 32 years old.

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Image: RightCowLeftCoast | CC BY-SA 4.0

John William Finn: A Navy Man from the Beginning

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit United States Navy, PH1 Lance Kirk, Public domain. John William Finn was born in Compton, California on July 24, 1909, and dropped out of school after the seventh grade. He enlisted in the Navy in July 1926, just before his seventeenth birthday, completed recruit training in San Diego, and attended General Aviation Utilities Trai...

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Image: United States Navy, PH1 Lance Kirk | Public domain

John William Finn: Kaneohe Bay, December 7

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit United States Navy, PH1 Lance Kirk, Public domain. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, struck multiple targets across Oahu, including Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay, where Finn's squadron was based. When he arrived at the hangars after his neighbor's warning, most of the PBYs were already on fire. The base was...

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Image: United States Navy, PH1 Lance Kirk | Public domain

John William Finn: After the War

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit United States Navy, PH1 Lance Kirk, Public domain. Finn continued serving in the Navy after Pearl Harbor. He was commissioned as an ensign in 1942, reverted to chief petty officer in 1947, and eventually rose to lieutenant before retiring in 1956. His later years were spent in San Diego County, where he had been trained as a youn...

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Image: United States Navy, PH1 Lance Kirk | Public domain

John William Finn: The Last One

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Mike Leporati, Public domain. John William Finn died on May 27, 2010, at the age of 100, at his home in Chula Vista, California. At the time of his death he 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 recipie...

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Image: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Mike Leporati | Public domain