USS ''Finnegan'' (DE-307) was an constructed for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She was sent off into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

to protect

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s and other ships from

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s and fighter

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

. She performed escort and

antisubmarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

operations in dangerous battle areas and returned home with three well-earned

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

Namesake

William Michael Finnegan was born on 18 April 1897 in

Bessemer, Michigan Bessemer is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,805. It is the county seat of Gogebic County. The city is surrounded by Bessemer Township, but the two are administered autonomously. It is on U.S ...

. He enlisted in the Navy on 22 October 1917, and served continuously, rising to Chief Radio Electrician on 8 November 1929. He reported to on 30 August 1941. Appointed

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

18 November 1941, Chief Radio Electrician Finnegan was killed in action during the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

on 7 December 1941.

Construction and commissioning

''Finnegan'' was launched on 22 February 1944 by Mare Island Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. Charles Schroeder, sister of Ensign Finnegan; and commissioned on 19 August 1944.

World War II Pacific Theater operations

''Finnegan'' arrived at Pearl Harbor on 8 November 1944 to serve as escort for submarines conducting training exercises prior to their war patrols. She voyaged to

Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...

escorting a transport between 11 and 20 December, then returned to duty with submarines until 9 January 1945. After

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

training exercises in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

, ''Finnegan'' sailed escorting a group of LSTs and

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

s, two of which she towed for parts of the passage to

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

Supporting the Iwo Jima operations

On 15 February 1945, the escort ship sailed from Saipan for the assault on

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

, during which she screened transports as they launched their boats for the initial invasion on 19 February.

Sinking of Japanese Submarine I-370

On 26 February, while escorting empty transports to Saipan, ''Finnegan'' made a surface contact by Radarman Robert N. Perry

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

, and was detached from the screen to locate and sink the Japanese submarine in a four-hour attack, in . Radarman Perry was given $50.00 by the Captain for catching the early morning contact.

Supporting invasion of Okinawa operations

From Saipan, ''Finnegan'' screened the transports on to ''Espiritu Santo'', arriving 15 March 1945. She sailed ten days later for

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest i ...

, the vast base from which the

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

assault was staged, and on 9 April, she reached the newly assaulted island. Sailing on anti-submarine patrols, as well as screening assault shipping, ''Finnegan'' fired to drive off a would-be suicide plane on 28 May. On 10 July she departed Okinawa for duty in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

on local escort and patrol assignments until 15 September.

Post-War decommissioning

''Finnegan'' then sailed for

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...

, Pearl Harbor, and

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 27 November 1945. She was sold for scrapping in June 1946.

Awards

''Finnegan'' received three

s for World War II service.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finnegan (DE-307) Evarts-class destroyer escorts World War II mine warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Vallejo, California 1944 ships