For the former crew of the USS Hancock the
reunion in New Orleans the year following the September 11 attack on America
had been both sad and inspiring. Of note was the presence of retired
Navy Lieutenant John W. Finn. John doesn't get around much any more, at
age 92 his bad knees make movement difficult and painful. Four years ago
John's beloved wife Alice, who had been with him from the attack at Kaneohe
Bay through retirement from the Navy in 1956, had passed away. Somehow
John, despite his loneliness, still finds a way to get around and attend
military functions, reunions, and even to speak in schools and other youth
programs. John feels it is a duty he owes his Nation, to continue to
serve in this role to inspire other Americans.
For
his actions at Kaneohe Bay, John Finn was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Because the attack occurred five minutes before Pearl Harbor, most consider
John to be the FIRST Medal of Honor recipient of World War II. Of
fifteen men who earned Medals of Honor that day, John is the only one still
living. Celebrating his 93rd birthday on July 24th of this
year, John would is the oldest living Recipient of the Medal of Honor.
Even if John didn't have the Medal of Honor hanging
around his neck, he would be one of the most incredible men any American could
ever meet. He is a classic in the finest sense of the word, a legend to
those who know his story, and an ICON to those who have ever met him. If
Reader's Digest still had the series they ran years ago titled "My
Most Unforgettable Character", they'd probably be swamped with stories of
John, many of them written by fellow Medal of Honor recipients.
Wherever
he goes, John has always got a story to tell and the time to tell it. He
is friendly, personable, and possesses unbelievable energy. I've seen
John visit and tell stories until 3 A.M. at such conventions, then be back up
at 7 A.M. and going all day.
John is also a humble man. A few years ago I took
John to visit with school children here in Pueblo. "I'm not a
hero," he began. "So I won't talk much about me. Let me
tell you about a REAL hero..." and then he launched into the story of
fellow Medal recipient Henry Red Erwin, a man John has always loved and
admired.
As this year's reunion of the USS Hancock Association
was winding down, there was some confusion about John's airline ticket to
return home to San Diego. On Monday, June 24th Association President
James Sweeney and Joe Bizet went to the airport to confirm John's flight for
the following day. Due a technicality ("Didn't you read the fine
print on the back of the ticket?"), American Airlines would not honor
John's return reservation. So, searching for another flight, Mr. Sweeney
and Mr. Bizet found themselves at the United Airlines counter purchasing a
round-trip ticket to get John Finn home. Mr. Sweeney purchased the
ticket on his own, personal credit card.
The United Airlines employee advised Mr. Sweeney and Mr.
Bizet that John Finn should be at the airport by 5:30 A.M. the following
morning to exchange his voucher for a paper ticket. It seemed that
everything was going smoothly.
Tom Hennessy is a close friend of John's from Latham,
New York. Mr. Hennessey accompanies John to many functions to assist him
in any way possible. On Tuesday, June 25th Tom drove John Finn to the
airport, accompanied by Mr. Bizet. Arriving at 5:20 A.M., Mr. Hennessey
spent some time finding a place to park the car while Mr. Bizet escorted John
to the United Airlines counter where they were told John did not need a paper
ticket.... "You have everything you need to get on board."
Mr. Hennessey entered the airport terminal as John was being escorted towards
security. Both men walked him as far as they were allowed to go.
There they flagged down a United Airlines employee, told her that John has bad
knees and might need some assistance, and requested she look out for
him. She promised she would. They then left their friend in the
hands of United Airlines, unable and not allowed to proceed further, confident
that John would soon be winging his way home.
The young woman from United Airlines escorted Mr. Finn
through the security checkpoint where John placed his Medal in the basket for
screening and was allowed to proceed. It was the end of any assistance
for John. He asked an employee at that checkpoint where Gate 78 was and
was told, "Its right around the corner there."
"That was the longest damn walk," John said in
a recent phone conversation. "I kept having trouble walking and
almost fell down several times."
I asked John, "Didn't the employees offer you any
assistance?"
"I didn't ask for help," John
replied.
From there, things went from bad to worse. John
had already passed two security checkpoints, and was wanded yet a third
time. The Medal of Honor in his pocket set off the alarm, and brought
John new attention. (Unlike the case with General Joe Foss earlier this
year, no attempt was made to take the Medal from John. It's presence
simply singled John out for further attention.) None-the-less, no one at
security seemed to recognize the Medal, or realize that they had a hero far
greater than any celebrity in their midst.
John was pulled aside and told to remove his cowboy
boots and socks. John had great difficulty even getting his boots on,
but insists on wearing them everywhere. He sat down, struggled to get
them off, and handed them to a man who, according to John, "was very
stern. Then they took my boots and went off with them, some secret room
or something I guess."
"I guess that's standard procedure," John told
me in our conversation, "but that was the longest darn wait, but they
finally brought me my boots back." I asked John how many other
passengers had been requested to remove their shoes or boots. "I
didn't see anyone else do it," he replied. "I guess I was the
only one."
Now under scrutiny, security began the third
degree. "Who bought your ticket?" a lady at the ticket counter
asked. John tells me she was polite but very direct and firm.
"I don't know," John replied. "My
association bought it for me."
With insinuations that John might be guilty of
purchasing the ticket with a stolen credit card, and might be subject to
charges of fraud, he was told his ticket would NOT be honored by United unless
he could produce the credit card with which it was purchased. Of course,
Mr. James Sweeney was by now far away, and there was little John could do.
Despite his age, his health, his fatigue and the bad
knees that often require John to walk on crutches or that confine him to a
wheelchair, no assistance was offered to Mr. Finn as he was detained.
John was informed that if he would personally purchase a
ticket, he would at last be allowed to board his flight.
"Fortunately I had my checkbook with me and enough money to cover the
check," John says. "It was $631.70 or something like that, and
lots of times I don't have that much money in the bank, but this time, luckily
I did.
"The thing that bothered me was, they kept
saying: 'We have to protect United from fraud'. It was like they
were accusing me of something bad," John said.
The details of this sad event were initially provided to me in
phone conversations with both Mr. Hennessey and Mr. Bizet. Mr. Hennesey
told me that John was picked up at the San Diego airport by Finn's son,
Joe. Joe noted that normally when his father returned from the trip, he
talked about it all the way home, but "This was the first time I've ever
picked dad up that he SLEPT all the way home."
Mr. Bizet learned of these events the day following,
when he called California to see how John's flight home had gone. In
this article, I will not print what he said about his reaction upon learning
the indignity rendered this American hero. Mr. Bizet immediately sent
letters to the White House, United Airlines, The American Legion, the VFW, and
Medal of Honor Society president Nick Bacon. A week later, the only
reply he had received had been from Nick Bacon.
On Friday, July 5th I visited by phone with Mr.
Finn. He corrected some parts of the story, emphasizing that his Medal
of Honor was never an issue as it had been with Mr. Foss. Security just
didn't know what it was. The thing that bothered John was the repeated insistence
that he produce a credit card to prove he was not trying to commit fraud.
Mr. John Finn, MOH
AN AMERICAN ICON
Webmaster's Note:
At the bottom of this page, I will include
contact information for United Airlines Customer Service
Center. But the problem here is far beyond United Airlines, it
is a societal problem. Personally, if I or most
other veterans were working in an airport and saw a Medal of Honor
passing through, especially in the possession of a 92-year-old man,
I would make every effort to treat him with the greatest respect,
and offer him every courtesy. If John Finn were a celebrity,
he'd have been greeted, feted, and treated to the red carpet.
Instead, he was left to fend for himself, alone and struggling to
simply go home after doing his patriotic duty.
Less than six months ago, World War II Marine
Corps Ace of Aces Joe Foss was detained at the Phoenix Airport
because security there did not recognize his Medal of Honor for what
it was. Had Joe been a rock star or athlete, he'd have been
quickly recognized and given the Red Carpet treatment.
Instead, Joe is NOT a celebrity (though he hosted a popular TV show
years ago.) He is only an American Patriot who
earned the Medal of Honor during World War II, is one of three such
heroes to appear on the cover of LIFE magazine, and is former
governor of South Dakota.
Two years ago Marine Medal of Honor recipient
Mike Clausen was guest of honor for a Marine Corps Birthday
celebration on the East Coast. After the ceremony, several
fellow former Marines took him to lunch at Outback Restaurant,
requesting that he wear his medal. Numerous customers
recognized the award for what it was, and began striking up
conversations. In a gesture of kindness, Mike began giving
those who asked, autographed copies of his citation. As a
result, he was rebuked by the management for soliciting.
Management then called police, who confronted Mike as he left the
restaurant.
In the Outback incident, one employee was fired,
another retrained, a donation made to a charity of Mike's choice,
and an apology rendered by the company's upper management.
Today there are only 143 living recipients of the
Medal of Honor. It is one of our rarest National
treasures. It's rarity is no excuse for the ignorance that
exists as to what it is, or what it represents. While I am
outraged at the treatment of John Finn by United Airlines employees,
quite frankly this situation could have happened in almost any of
thousands of other settings.
Why? Because we have failed in remembering
what is important, and in teaching our young who the REAL heroes of
our nation are. How do we rectify this? I don't
know. In my own way, I try to do my part.
HomeOfHeroes.com is now getting nearly 3 million hits a month...I
thought that was pretty good...but apparently we haven't scratched
the surface of what needs to be accomplished. I'll keep doing
what I can, but we as a NATION need to reassess the values we
promote, distinguish between celebrity and heroism, and render the
proper honor to our real heroes by never forgetting WHO they are and
WHAT they have done.
Doug Sterner
Since the inception of this website four
years ago, I have taken great steps NOT to editorialize or espouse
opinions, either my own or that of others. With my apologies,
I felt it necessary to make this an exception. I'll try not to
do it again.
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