Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Old 28-05-2010, 02:02 AM posted to rec.gardens
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: May 2009
Posts: 1,085
Default yea i know off topic John Finn, 100, Dies; Received Pearl Harbor Medal


John Finn, 100, Dies; Received Pearl Harbor Medal
By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
Published: May 27, 2010


John W. Finn, the last survivor of the 15 Navy men who received the
Medal of Honor for heroism during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor,
died Thursday in the San Diego area. He was 100 and had been the oldest
living recipient of the medal, the nation¹s highest award for valor.

His death was announced by Lt. Aaron Kakiel of the Navy, The Associated
Press said.

On the morning of Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, when Japanese planes bombed the
American battleships in Hawaii, plunging the nation into World War II,
numerous acts of valor played out. Most of them took place aboard the
stricken ships ‹ in some cases efforts by the wounded and the dying to
save their fellow sailors. Amid the death and destruction, Chief Finn,
on an airfield runway, was waging a war of his own against the Japanese.

A few minutes before 8 o¹clock, Japanese planes attacked the Kaneohe Bay
Naval Air Station, about 12 miles from Battleship Row at Ford Island,
hoping to knock out three dozen Navy aircraft before they could get
aloft.

Mr. Finn, the chief petty officer in charge of munitions at the naval
station and a veteran of 15 years in the Navy, was in bed in a nearby
apartment he shared with his wife, Alice. He heard the sound of
aircraft, saw one plane flash past his window, then another, and he
heard the firing of machine guns.

He dressed hurriedly, got into his 1938 Ford and drove to the naval
station. At first, he observed the base¹s 20 miles-per-hour speed limit.
But then, ³I heard a plane come roaring in from astern of me,² he
recalled decades later in an interview with Larry Smith for ³Beyond
Glory,² an oral history of Medal of Honor recipients.

³As 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 it¹s a wonder I didn¹t run over every sailor in
the air station.²

When Chief Finn arrived at the hangars, many of the planes had already
been hit. He recalled that he grabbed a .30-caliber machine gun on a
makeshift tripod, carried it to an exposed area near a runway and began
firing. For the next two and a half hours, he blazed away, although
peppered by shrapnel as the Japanese planes strafed the runways with
cannon fire.

As he remembered it: ³I got shot in the left arm and shot in the left
foot, broke the bone. I had shrapnel blows in my chest and belly and
right elbow and right thumb. Some were just scratches. My scalp got cut,
and everybody thought I was dying: Oh, Christ, the old chief had the top
of his head knocked off! I had 28, 29 holes in me that were bleeding. I
was walking around on one heel. I was barefooted on that coral dust. My
left arm didn¹t work. It was just a big ball hanging down.²

Chief Finn thought he had hit at least one plane, but he did not know
whether he had brought it down. When the attack ended, he received first
aid, then returned to await a possible second attack. He was
hospitalized the following afternoon.

On Sept. 15, 1942, Chief Finn received the Medal of Honor from Adm.
Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, in a
ceremony aboard the carrier Enterprise at Pearl Harbor. Admiral Nimitz
cited Chief Finn for his ³magnificent courage in the face of almost
certain death.²

John William Finn was born on July 23, 1909, in Los Angeles County, the
son of a plumber. He dropped out of school to join the Navy at age 17.

He served stateside after he recovered from his Pearl Harbor wounds,
became a lieutenant in 1944 and remained in military service until 1947.
He later owned a cattle ranch in Pine Valley, Calif., about 45 miles
east of San Diego.

His wife died in 1998. A listing of survivors was not immediately
available.

Ten of the 15 servicemen who received the Medal of Honor for their
actions at Pearl Harbor died in the attack. Among them were Rear Adm.
Isaac C. Kidd, commander of Battleship Division 1, who was aboard the
Arizona when it blew up and sank; Capt. Franklin Van Valkenburgh,
commander of the Arizona; and Capt. Mervyn S. Bennion, commander of the
battleship West Virginia.

Four of the Pearl Harbor medal recipients survived the war. Cmdr. Cassin
Young, awarded the medal for reboarding and saving his repair ship, the
Vestal, after being blown into the water, died in November 1942 in the
battle for Guadalcanal.

In 1999, Mr. Finn was among Pearl Harbor veterans invited to Hawaii for
the premiere of the Hollywood movie ³Pearl Harbor.² ³It was a damned
good movie,² he told The Boston Herald in 2001. ³It¹s helped educate
people who didn¹t know about Pearl Harbor and what happened there.²

³I liked it especially,² he said, ³because I got to kiss all those
pretty little movie actresses.²

--
Bill S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden
What use one more wake up call?
  #2   Report Post  
Old 28-05-2010, 12:32 PM posted to rec.gardens
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Nov 2006
Posts: 973
Default yea i know off topic John Finn, 100, Dies; Received PearlHarbor Medal

Rest in Peace John Finn

A fitting time of year to honor him and all who serve and have served.

Cheryl

  #3   Report Post  
Old 28-05-2010, 06:06 PM posted to rec.gardens
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,438
Default yea i know off topic John Finn, 100, Dies; Received Pearl Harbor Medal

In article ,
Cheryl Isaak wrote:

Rest in Peace John Finn

A fitting time of year to honor him and all who serve and have served.

Cheryl


Now if we just had leaders who deserved the John Finns of the world.
Thank you, John Finn, thank you.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html
  #4   Report Post  
Old 29-05-2010, 01:08 PM posted to rec.gardens
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Nov 2006
Posts: 973
Default yea i know off topic John Finn, 100, Dies; Received PearlHarbor Medal

On 5/28/10 12:06 PM, in article
, "Billy"
wrote:

In article ,
Cheryl Isaak wrote:

Rest in Peace John Finn

A fitting time of year to honor him and all who serve and have served.

Cheryl


Now if we just had leaders who deserved the John Finns of the world.
Thank you, John Finn, thank you.



It's been a long time...
Cheryl

Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Therapik Yea I know a bit spamy but I got one years ago and it works. Bill who putters Gardening 0 01-05-2010 06:13 PM
John Cushnie dies Pam Moore[_2_] United Kingdom 30 05-01-2010 10:59 PM
OT Yea I know Michael passed but so did Willie Mays Bill who putters Gardening 3 30-06-2009 09:42 PM
Easy to see, Expat owns John Smith and John Smith is ExpatsPuppet on a String! hahahaha ..... Dance Johnny boy.. dance you fool!John Smith the puppet on a string John Smith[_5_] Ponds 0 07-09-2008 05:42 PM
Freshwater Pearl Necklace Sets Foundation for the Perfect Look(freshwater pearl necklaces) zax Freshwater Aquaria Plants 0 01-04-2008 06:56 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:48 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 GardenBanter.co.uk.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about Gardening"

 

Copyright © 2017