John Finn, hero at Pearl Harbor, dies at 100
John Finn, the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, died Thursday morning at the age of 100 at the Chula Vista Veterans Home.
He was stationed at Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station on Dec. 7, 1941 when he found himself firing at Japanese planes from an exposed position at Pearl Harbor for more than two hours despite being hit 21 times by bomb and bullet fragments.
The longtime East County resident was credited by some with single-handedly shooting down a Japanese aircraft but he would later say “I can’t honestly say I hit any, but I shot at every damn plane I could see.”
Friends and fellow veterans said Lt. Finn was a rock star in military circles. People clamored for a handshake or to have a picture taken with him wherever he went. Fellow Medal of Honor recipient Tom Kelley said Lt. Finn was a big hit at a Veterans Day event in Massachusetts last year.