Lieutenant John William Finn (born July 23, 1909) is a retired officer of the United States Navy who received the Medal of Honor in recognition of heroism and distinguished service during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. As of July 2008, at age 99, Finn is the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient and is also the only living Pearl-Harbor-Day Medal of Honor recipient John William Finn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Some facts about Pearl Harbour that you may or may not know ! Commander Mitsuo Fuchida led the Japanese air attack on the US fleet. The first wave comprised of 183 fighters, bombers and torpedo planes. Pilots used a Honolulu radio station's music as a beacon to home in on. The first US casualties of the war against Japan came after a 500lb bomb hit a barracks dining hall at the Army Air Forces' Hickam Field, killing 35 men having breakfast. Japan's six aircraft carriers were - Akaga, Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu, Shokadu and Zuikaku. In the war that followed, the US sank every one of the Japanese aircraft carriers, battleships and cruisers that made up the December 1941 force. At least seven torpedoes hit the warship West Virginia. Among her 105 dead were three men who survived for two weeks in a sealed compartment. They lost their lives when the air in their watery grave finally gave out. The USS Arizona was the hardest hit, struck by one torpedo and eight bombs. One pierced the forward deck, setting off more than a million pounds of gunpowder and killing 1,177 men. A sailor on the torpedoed battleship Nevada saw the Arizona "jump at least 15 or 20 feet upwards in the water and sort of break in two." In nine minutes the Arizona was on the bottom. Eighteen ships were damaged or destroyed, 177 planes lost and there were 2,403 human casualties. But apart from the Arizona, Utah and Oklahoma, every ship sunk or damaged in the attack was recovered, repaired and sailed again. More than 250,000 rounds of ammunition were fired at the Japanese, bringing down 29 planes. The attack lasted just over two hours. By 10am, the air strike was over. The Japanese navy used five midget submarines in the raid, launched near the entrance to Pearl Harbor before the attack. One was sunk trying to enter the harbour before dawn. But at least one of the midgets was able to enter the harbour and was sunk there by USS Monaghan. Fifteen men received Medals of Honor for their heroism. Machine gunner John Finn, 91, survives. Hit FOUR times by shrapnel, he continued to engage the enemy and it wasn't until the second and final wave of the attack had subsided that Finn finally sought medical help. America did not believe in reports from their own radar station that many unidentified aircraft were heading for Pearl Harbor. British Sources knew and might have warned the USA about three days prior to the attack (maybe failed to do so, realising that such an attack would bring the USA into the war). The first shots of the Pearl Harbor raid were fired by the USA at a mini-submarine which was actually sunk.
Hi TetVet68 and welcome ! What a lovely surprise to see your photographs .... thank you so much for sharing them ! Do you have a family connection ?? ... I don't ... but I've been interested in this sailor ! Annie EDIT ........ what happened to the post ?????? .... don't know what happened but the pictures are great !!
Lieutenant John William Finn, USN (Ret.) America's oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, living his 100th year is former enlisted Chief Petty Officer, Aviation Chief Ordnanceman (ACOM), later wartime commissioned Lieutenant John W. Finn, USN (Ret.). He is also the last surviving Medal of Honor, "The Day of Infamy", Japanese Attack on the Hawaiian Islands, Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, 7 December 1941. Visit my photo album tribute: http://news.webshots.com/album/141695570BONFYl San Diego, California Here are a few samples:
Hello, Liverpool Annie! Sorry about the posting error. I'm new here and unfamiliar with the photo posting process. I had to fuss around a bit to acquaint myself with the procedure. I think I have it figured out now. My now deceased father "Navy Centenarian Sailor" Julio "Jay" Ereneta, USN (Ret.) (Veteran of World War One and World War Two) lived to almost one hundred four (104) and was shipmate and friend to Finn. His photo album URL is here: http://news.webshots.com/album/123286873BFAAiq
Hi TetVet68 ! You must be very proud of your Dad ... God Bless him ! I Googled him and a lot of information came up ! Your photos are terrific ..... thanks again for sharing them with us ! Annie
Julio "Jay" Ereneta Birth - Jan. 2, 1902 Iloilo City, Philippines Death - Apr. 15, 2005 San Diego San Diego County California, USA Oldest WW I and WW II Veteran. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in February 1919 and although an armistice had officially ended WW I on November 11, 1918, the nature of the minesweeping operation qualified him as a WW I veteran. In 1921, he graduated from the U.S. Navy Radio School and his first duty was as an air crewman on a seaplane on the first U.S. aircraft carrier, the Langley. During World War II, he served from 1942 to 1944 and was involved in 1945, liberation of his Philippines homeland. During his 30 year naval career, he was among the first Filipinos to serve as a radio operator, a combat air crewman, an aviation chief petty officer and be commissioned Chief Warrant Officer. He also was the oldest minesweeper sailor at the time of his death, according to the Bureau of Naval Personnel. He returned to San Diego after the war, serving in flight operations at North Island Naval Air Station until retiring in 1949. As a civilian, he worked as an electronics technician at General Dynamics, supervisor of factory electronics calibration for the Astronautics Division, involved with guidance systems for the Atlas missile and Mercury space programs. Also a amateur radio operator, he coordinated West Coast emergency networks for broadcasts of weather conditions to vessels in the Pacific and was credited by the National Weather Service, the U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican public officials for life-saving efforts. Cause of death, heart failure at age 103. Julio "Jay" Ereneta (1902 - 2005) - Find A Grave Memorial
They got their own back as well. Tennessee and West Virginia, both sunk at Pearl Harbour but raised and repaired, took part in the last ever Battleship-versus-Battleship action, at Surigao Strait on 25th October 1944, when they helped to sink the IJNS Fuso and Yamashiro
