IKE Ordnancemen honor MOH recipient

Officers and chiefs from the weapons department of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) honored Medal of Honor recipient John Finn with a flag raising ceremony Tuesday.

Finn, the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, is the only aviation ordnanceman to be awarded the nation's highest military honor.

Finn was awarded the medal for his extraordinary bravery during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower's Air Gunner, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Robert Clift, said Finn has become an iconic figure within the aviation ordnance rate.

"We all gathered together during flight operations today to honor a man that we respect very highly," said Finn in a Navy statement. "Aviation ordnancemen look up to this man for his accomplishments and for his leadership within his rate and his community."

The flag raised on the Dwight D. Eisenhower has already been flown at sea aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73), USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). It will continue making its way from one destination to the next until it is finally presented to Finn on his 100th birthday, July 23.

"The flag is making its way from the west coast carriers to the East," said Lt. Sterling Stedman, Dwight D. Eisenhower's Ordnance Handling Officer. "Along with the flag, we will send pictures of it being hoisted and flown, and a signed certificate from every U.S. carrier to Mr. Finn on his birthday."

Finn's official Medal of Honor citation states:

"For extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Dec. 7, 1941, Finn promptly secured and manned a .50-caliber machine gun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machine gun strafing fire.   Although painfully wounded many times, Finn continued to man this gun and to return the enemy's fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own personal safety. It was only by specific orders that he was persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention. Following first-aid treatment, although obviously suffering much pain and moving with great difficulty, he returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the rearming of returning planes."

Adm. Chester Nimitz awarded the Medal of Honor to Finn September 15, 1942, aboard the USS Enterprise. Finn enlisted in the Navy in 1926 and retired in 1956 at the rank of lieutenant.

The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is underway for a regularly scheduled deployment in support of the on-going rotation of forward-deployed forces to support Operation Enduring Freedom, maritime operations and operate in international waters across the globe.