Passing of John Finn WWII Medal of Honor recipient

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Passing of John Finn WWII Medal of Honor recipient

The following press release was published by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service on May 27, 2010. It is reproduced in full below.

www.navytimes.com/news/2010/05/ap_john_finn_obit_052710

The Associated Press Posted : Thursday May 27, 2010 15:49:57 EDT

SAN DIEGO - Retired Navy Lt. John Finn, the oldest Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, has died at his Southern California home. He was 100.

Navy Lt. Aaron Kakiel says Finn died early Thursday on his ranch near Live Oak Springs, where he lived for more than 50 years.

Finn earned the nation’s highest military valor award for his heroism during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He received the Medal of Honor on Sept. 15, 1942, from then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Born July 23, 1909, in Los Angeles, Finn was the oldest of the 97 Medal of Honor recipients still living.

During the Dec. 7, 1941, attack, Finn manned a machine gun and began firing from an exposed location on Japanese aircraft, suffering serious wounds in the process.

Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service

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