Ship bearing war hero’s name to be commissioned

A new Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer that honors a Dec. 7, 1941, defender and Medal of Honor recipient will be commissioned at 10 a.m. July 15 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam’s Kilo Pier, the Navy said.

The $2 billion USS John Finn is expected to arrive in Pearl Harbor on Monday morning.

The destroyer is named after the chief ordnanceman who used a .50-caliber machine gun to fire at attacking Japanese planes from an exposed portion of an aircraft parking ramp at Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay.

Finn received 21 shrapnel wounds from the strafing planes but kept firing — leaving only when ordered to receive medical attention. Following first aid, and in obvious pain, he returned to his squadron area to supervise the rearming of returning American planes.

Finn’s bravery earned him the first Medal of Honor of World War II, presented by Adm. Chester Nimitz on Sept. 14, 1942, aboard the USS Enterprise, according to the Navy. Nimitz said Finn displayed “magnificent courage in the face of almost certain death.”

“A lot of men were shot during this time, a lot of shot-up men. I was angry,” Finn would tell a Navy historian many years later.

More than 1,500 people are expected for the commissioning.

Finn died in 2010. “He’s a great man and should be celebrated,” said Jane Ferreira, executive director of the Honolulu Navy League, which is working with the Navy to plan the commissioning.

Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, is scheduled to deliver the commissioning ceremony’s principal address.

Laura Stavridis, wife of retired Adm. James Stavridis, the former supreme allied commander for Europe, will serve as sponsor of the ship, the Navy said. She will give the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life” in the time-honored Navy tradition.

Cmdr. Michael Wagner, a native of Minnesota, is commanding officer of the ship, leading a crew of 350 officers and enlisted personnel. The 9,140-ton Finn was built by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Miss. The ship is 509 feet long and has a beam of 66 feet and a navigational draft of 31 feet.

The USS John Finn will be home-ported in San Diego.