This white haired man, wearing a white button up western shirt, slacks, and a pair of shoes that look like penny loafers, has on a ballcap that had USS Hancock CV-19 across the front of it with a Chief Petty Officer’s fouled anchor device affixed to it. My first impression of John is that he reminded me of a living version of the leprechaun from the Lucky Charms cereal advertisements I grew up watching on Saturday morning cartoons.
He also had once other adornment hanging around his neck, the unmistakable light blue neck ribbon of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Being a US Naval Reservist at that time, I immediately snap to attention and render a proper hand salute, I then begin to explain that while I’m in a uniform, it is not MY uniform, and that I’m merely a Gunner’s Mate Seaman and not a Chief Petty Officer. I don’t know if I appeared nervous to John or not, but he said; “Take it easy gunner – I’m an old Chief Aviation Ordnanceman myself, some of my favorite shipmates were gunner’s mates…” Of course, that was John Finn… in his own estimation, just an ordinary guy. He then removes his MOH and stuffs it in his shirt pocket with this explanation; “I’m takin’ this thing off… I’m tired of all the salutin’…!”
John, my two friends and I, spend the next hour and a half listening to John tell of his days in the Asiatic Fleet, that horrible morning of December 7th, 1941, his son Joe – who was a backhoe contractor in Lakeside, and the woman that he loved more than life itself… his wife Alice. After awhile, John says: “Well… I had better finish my rounds at this here shindig – gotta get home to Alice”. John scuffled off down the sidewalk in Embarcadero Park, found something else of extreme interest, and a half hour later when my pals and I finished talking about our “encounter” with John Finn – Medal of Honor Recipient from Pearl Harbor… he was about twenty yards away “holding court” with some Civil War Union Troopers – one of which I would later meet and have a relationship with that would be as close to me as anyone ever in my life, George Craig – the co-founder of the Marching Thru History Exposition. However, that is another story for another time.
The one thing that really struck all of us like a thunderclap who had been in the presence of John Finn… it was obvious he wasn’t a young man, but he had a mind like a steel trap! He was telling us of the first navy chief he reported to in 1926 at his first duty station, he told us of days about the Heavy Cruiser USS Houston and of the Orient in the pre-war years… John spoke of the AP’s - Aviation Pilots that he knew all by name, and how they were shot off the cruisers by catapult so they could scout and artillery spot for the ships main batteries. He told of the “Day That Will Live in Infamy” and what it was like being at Naval Air Station – Kaneohe Bay… both before and during the December 7th attack. He spoke of how Alice was there with him, serving as a US Navy Nurse. John spoke of being a “junk man” after the war, and how the City of San Diego eventually forced him out because of redevelopment decisions made by City and County of San Diego politicians.
Later that afternoon – maybe four or five hours later – John walks past me on the way to his car, he says: “Can I borrow a pen from you? I want to give you my number in case you want to come out and visit me and Alice at the ranch”. Of course, I obliged… in over twenty years of knowing John, I’m not sure that I ever told him “no” on any request he ever made of me.
BEING PART OF THE FINN FAMILY - All it took to become “family” to John Finn, was an hour of your time, an interest in about anything that two men can stop and jaw about, and a willingness to engage in discussion – if you could find a spot to get a sentence, or perhaps even a question in, edgewise. John was so willing to give you his expertise; he never stopped being a navy chief! He had a quality to himself in that he was always an educator.
The years passed into decades, and I had John Finn MOH at many functions here in Southern California. Whether it was the Marching Thru History Exposition, other veterans’ community functions, or just a visit to the ranch to see Alice and he, it was always a pleasure and John always made you feel like one of his kids that had been away for a while.
After declining health and a long illness, Alice died in 1998… at this point, I could tell that John was both heart sick and lonely… I stayed away to give him space… he was often away to some function somewhere… and was rarely ever home. Looking back now, staying busy might have been John’s way of dealing with his loss.
ICON JOHN - John has always been an icon of the Aviation Ordnancemen Association and of those active duty AO’s across San Diego bay in the current battle fleet. John William Finn was even an icon amongst the most revered men in the history of the United States – the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. I have worked with a dozen or more of them over the years and sooner or later the discussion would come to; “You live in Southern California… how’s “Old John Finn” holding up? Even amongst the greatest of the great, John was a giant!
I was coming back from baseball officiating in Yuma in 2000 and decided to stop in… John’s place needed some help… he had been there alone for some time. I told John I would be back the following week and I brought my girlfriend with me to have a “visit”. We had a long and interesting day on the ranch.
I called John in June 2002 and asked him what was going on for July 4th… he indicated that he was staying home that year. I canceled my plans and spent three days at the ranch, highlighted by stepping on a four-foot long rattlesnake while returning from the mailbox with John’s mail. While I came out of it just fine… I got to participate in a snake hunt where John caught the snake and placed it in a cage – turns out the rattlers from that area are rare, and John had some scientist that would come down from his university, anytime John managed to capture one. We poisoned rats, repaired the phone lines that the rats had chewed through in his attic, messed around on the ranch, went into town for dinners, ran some errands, and all the while, all I could do was look at this little old man with awe, pinch myself, and wonder how I was able to be so blessed by God to be his friend.
Over the past five or so years, John had a female companion that stayed at the ranch with him and traveled to take care of his needs - Frances (I’m not sure of the spelling) She was a gift from God for John… she did yeoman’s work around the homestead, she kept him fed and on schedule… no small task when dealing with a professional talker that could find an interest in just about everything! Even in his final years, John was still as sharp as a tack!
THE FINAL TIME I WAS WITH JOHN – Another close friend I have made from the old GME days, Phil Kern, calls me stating he had heard a rumor, and had a question about whether or not I was going to be involved with John’s 100th birthday celebration. I informed Phil that I knew nothing about it.
Phil gave me the number for the retired Master Chief Petty Officer restaurant owner who was putting on the event. I had about three weeks or so to help Bud Wharton put an “MTHE touch” on the festivities. Through exhaustive emails and phone calls, the Marching Thru History Family was able to provide about fifteen Pearl Harbor reenactors complete with jeeps, trucks, howitzers, and large models of some of the ships that were at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.
This was a SURPRISE party that Bud had concocted, so John knew nothing about it. I called Frances to set up my part in the elaborate scheme. I used to stop and see John on my way through from baseball in Arizona. So, Katherine Lowe and I stopped in. Frances “mentioned” during our discussions that there was going to be a small, informal lunch for John the next day. I apologized profusely for not being able to stay myself, but that I had to return to Orange County the next day for a baseball assignment. So, a brisk three-hour visit, condolences for my poor scheduling, and back to the evil plan.
Our MTHE people were the ones who went to John’s ranch to pick him up in two WWII jeeps, complete with 1941 Soldiers and Marines, to take him to the La Posta Restaurant, along with about 50 motorcycle riders of E Clampus Vitus. John arrived to about 800 people, a giant tent, a unveiling ceremony for a monument that Bud had paid for himself, a US Navy Commander as the event emcee, the Campo Indians doing a special presentation to John that is reserved for the most respected elders of their tribe, along with a historic vehicle display.
There was food, beverages, stories, lots of pictures and handshakes and one hell of an event as events go… lots of media coverage – just as there was in his passing – and everything that was done in June 2009, was done out of love and appreciation by the people around John, who were with him the most… the folks of Live Oak Springs and the surrounding areas. Yet, even though there was much jubilation for John reaching his 100th birthday, there was finality and an underpinning of sadness to it. I knew it would be the last time I would see my shipmate alive.
During the previous evening’s discussions around the front room of John’s home, John brought up that one of his doctors wanted to put him on blood thinners. We talked in general terms about what would happen if John happened to cut himself while out in his junkpiles on the ranch. I made the comment that he probably wouldn’t event make it to the house before expiring and while driving back to Alpine for the evening, I told Katherine that I believed that one of the reasons why John had made it as long as he had was because of his constant activity. I told her that taking pills and sitting around the house would kill John. That was the last one-on-one time that I was privileged to have with America’s National Treasure – John W. Finn.
NOW THAT JOHN FINN IS PART OF HISTORY – Part of the problem I have had my whole life, is that being a “historian” means that you will befriend men and women decades older than yourself. Because time marches on, you often end up at their funeral. At 46 years old, I have attended over a thousand funeral services in my lifetime. This is the reality of working most of my adult life in the veterans’ community.
While I am so honored and so privileged to have been able to send just a few days really, with a man that lived for a century, a man that was a naval hero and National Treasure – even though he didn’t want to be one – I feel anguish and am tearing up while at the same time smiling as I compose these words. I have felt this way at the passing of other “greats” that I have known; Count Basie, President Ronald Reagan, Benny Goodman, but this one is nagging at me, even though we at MTHE are at a high operational tempo preparing for Memorial Day a day from now.
Why cry for a man that passes on at one hundred years old? Probably because you quickly realize that if YOU live to be one hundred years old, you will never experience the likes of John William Finn again. Maybe the passing of John Finn represents something greater than himself – in looking around this nation, our beautiful State of California, and our American society and culture, maybe his passing represents the possibilities that our nation’s best days are behind us. Maybe God is telling us as Americans that we don’t deserve to have National Treasures any longer. I hope that as I write this, it is just my grief for the passing of my dear friend and eternal shipmate, and not a warning sign.
WHAT DOES JOHN FINN REPRESENT? - Not John Finn - Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, not John the professional sailor and Aviation Ordnanceman, not John the Educator, not John the Friend, and not John the American Patriot. I believe that God Almighty placed John Finn on this earth for a full century because there are many of us who needed his example of what it is to be a true American Patriot. An American that through a lifetime of bravery, hard work, and through good deeds, might have the opportunity to become one of America’s National Treasures themselves.
On Memorial Day Weekend and in a traditional US Navy sendoff; “Fair Winds and Following Seas LT. John William Finn USN (Ret.) MOH – while there may be others as great, there will NEVER be those who are greater! You set the example and have created the bar that the rest of us must now try to reach in our daily lives.”
Goodbye My Friend – Those of us left behind that had the opportunity to meet you, are all better people for it. You always had a twinkle in his eye, a story to tell, and another recollection just waiting to be told as soon as you finished the one you were telling us at that particular moment. You will always be our example of what a true American Patriot is, and my eternal shipmate.
Your friend,
Jeff Sharp
As many who are reading this already know - from a flurry of media reports on both Thursday and Friday of this past week – the United States Navy has lost one of its’ greatest naval heroes with the passing of my shipmate, John W. Finn. I would like to put to paper why John Finn is so deserving of such titles of acclaim and honor. John Finn’s very being was one that once you came into contact with him; YOUR life would be changed, forever. 
HOW I MET JOHN W. FINN - In 1987, I am participating in a now defunct project along the San Diego Bay waterfront known as the Grand Military Encampment in Embarcadero Park at Shoreline Village in San Diego. I am there to promote my own military antique collector’s show in Orange County called the Old War Antique Collector’s Show. I have a table with pictures of the monthly events and flyers to hand out to anyone that will take one. I am dressed in a WWII US Navy Chief’s uniform, complete with cover. I am speaking to a couple of collectors who I know from the area and this little guy walks up between us with a question; “Hi ya fellas… what-a-ya got here…?“