World War II veteran John Finn, 104, doesn’t go a day without hanging the U.S. flag from his home in Birch Bay Village, weather permitting.
“The flag is a symbol of everything concerning the country that I live in and all it means to me,” Finn said.
Finn’s deep respect for the flag dates back to his days in the service in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he was assigned to the Cutter Mahoning, an ice breaker in New York, and later the FS-268 in the South Pacific during World War II.
In 1942, Finn was drafted while working at Ford Motor Company’s plant in the Detroit suburbs, which manufactured Sherman tanks. After working on an ice breaking season in New York, the ship’s crew was reassigned to patrol boats, submarine chasers, landing craft used in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France and the South Pacific, where Finn headed to transport supplies.
Finn worked as a quartermaster and signalman on the FS-268, which had a crew of 22, plus guard dogs and even a monkey.
Finn helped navigate the boat with only a leadline and saved it twice: once on the first day, when it would have rammed into the dock if he hadn’t corrected its heading, and another time when it was headed into the bay.
Over 80 years later, images of war still stick in Finn’s memory like the day they occurred. Such memories range from a kitchen fire that started when the crew was unloading torpedoes to constantly being asked to identify himself in the Panama Canal. He remembers Nina, a Filipino girl in a gunny sack who would trade fresh fruit for cigarettes, which was more valuable than money, and getting gold on a remote island in the Philippines. Finn said he still gets sea sick thinking of the South Pacific.
Finn said his ship was considered expendable and not protected in a convoy as other freight supply vessels, some of which were attacked.
The relief of going home has also never left Finn.
“I was looking forward to a new life,” Finn said.
After war, Finn stayed in touch with the crew for a while, getting together in Michigan, before eventually losing touch over the years. With the help of the GI Bill, he attended the University of Michigan and work later moved him to Canada, where he met his wife, Barbara, in Vancouver.
Avid boaters, the Finns looked for a place where they could moor their boat near Vancouver, landing on Birch Bay Village. Finn has since retired from sailing and golfing, but remains active in following politics and taking trips to Palm Springs.
Still, at 104, Finn’s love for the flag has not faltered. He’s hung the flag every day since being on the FS-268 and said he sees it, in part, as a symbol for democracy.
One of the most notable flags Finn flew was a 48-star U.S. flag that he kept from his ship when it was given to the Philippine government. He saved the flag in a paper box in his garage and flew it a few years ago until it began disintegrating. John plans to give the flag to Sons of the American Revolution, a national nonprofit that honored John for exemplary patriotism in July 2022.
Finn said he wished children were taught about the flag more in schools and would like to see it flown in more places. He tries to educate the new generation on the flag, such as a group of Safeway employees he taught how to fold the flag properly after watching them take it down.
“I’m a patriot and the flag means a lot to me,” Finn said.
This Veterans Day, Finn said he planned to relax and enjoy it.
“Hopefully people have some idea why we have Veterans Day and who it’s for,” Finn said. “I certainly appreciate the fact that veterans are recognized.”
Finn said the biggest lessons he learned from war were to be responsible and that war was disruptive.
“You were a hero, John,” Barbara said.
“We all were at the time,” he replied.
