Joseph W. Finch, Jr.

Joseph Warren Finch, Jr. was born 8 March 1920 in Chicago, Illinois, was appointed ensign in the United States Naval Reserve 28 May 1941. He was killed in action in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942, when his ship Laffey (DD-459) was sunk. Lieutenant (junior grade) Finch shared posthumously in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded his ship for its outstanding performance in action against the Japanese in the Southwest Pacific from 15 September until its loss. Joe graduated from University City Senior High School in suburban St. Louis. His senior year he was the Missouri state champion in the 120 yard high hurdles. His winning time of 15.1 seconds set a new Missouri state record. He graduated from Northwestern University in June, 1941. He placed third in the Big Ten high hurdles race. He was elected by his teammates captain of the Northwestern track team. He was also selected as the outstanding Naval ROTC cadet, and accepted a commission in the U.S. Navy in May, 1941, 6 months before Pearl Harbor. When the destroyer escort was named in his honor in August, 1943, the ship was christened by his fiancee, Grace Cushing.

Namesake

USS Finch (DE-328) was named in his honor. (The earlier ship, Finch (AM-9) was named for the bird. She was commissioned before he was born.) The Finch DE-328 was involved in the evacuation of POW's from Taiwan at the conclusion of World War II, among which was Y3C Alma Glenn Pratt, who had served aboard the Finch (AM-9), and was surprised to see the name of his old ship on this vessel sent to rescue him. The Finch (DE-328) was later used by the US Coast Guard. In 1970, 20th Century Fox Films used the Finch (DE-328) to "play the part" of the USS Ward (DD-139) in the film Tora! Tora! Tora! in which the Ward was the first American naval vessel to fire at a Japanese vessel, a miniature submarine.