World War II Honoree
World War II Veteran
John W. Finocan
Branch of Service
U.S. Navy
Hometown
Gloversville, New York
Honored By
Michael Lynett
In September of 1942 at the age of 25, he enlisted in the Navy and returned to Dartmouth as an Ensign officer to train in seamanship and ship handling for three months. Then he was sent to Norfolk, Virginia and was assigned to command a 110 foot wooden hull sub chaser that with its sonar gear tracked German submarines along the East Coast. He was assigned to the 7th Fleet under General Douglas MacArthur who operated out of Australia at the time. Eventually, as a Senior Lieutenant he was given control of a patrol craft that was 200 feet long and had a crew of 100 with six officers. In 1945 he was ordered back to the states and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander.