- SURNAME
Finn
- FORENAME
James Norman
- UNIT
5 SF Group (Det A-302) (Mike Force)
- RANK
Sergeant First Class
- NUMBER
17321837
- DATE OF DEATH
4th November 1966
- AGE
35
- GRAVESITE
Odd Fellows Cemetery,Newtonia,Newton County,Missouri
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
from Salem,New Hampshire
born 6.6.1931 Missouri
son of Joe W. and Vina E. (nee Ferguson) Finn
married
14 years service
award Silver Star (posthumous)
KIA Loc Ninh,Binh Duong Province,South Vietnam (Op.Attleboro)
Vietnam Veterans Memorial,Washington,D.C. Panel 12E Line 20
DATE OF DEATH:
04-Nov-1966AWARD:
https://www.specialforcesroh.com/index.php?threads/finn-james-norman.41496/CITATION:
Silver Star : The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Sergeant First Class James Norman Finn (ASN: RA-17321837), United States Army, for gallantry in action in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force while serving with Detachment A-302, Company A, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, in the Republic of Vietnam. Sergeant First Class Finn distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions during the period 2 November 1966 to 4 November 1966 while serving as Special Forces Executive Officer and Advisor to a Vietnamese unit on a search and destroy mission. When the point element received a violent attack, Sergeant Finn moved forward to treat four wounded men. The fire striking around him was so intense that one man was hit again, while he was treating him. When the company withdrew to allow artillery to fire on the insurgents, Sergeant Finn remained behind to cover their movements. During the artillery barrage, he repeatedly ran through rifle fire to keep his men organized and effective as a fighting unit. He succeeded in guiding his men to repulse and defeat numerically superior Viet Cong forces in following fire fights. Two days later his company was almost surrounded by a regiment of insurgents, many times its own size in numbers. Sergeant Finn continued to lead and direct his men in an exemplary manner, and succeeded in keeping the enemy at bay until he was mortally wounded in action. Sergeant Finn's gallantry in action was in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
WEB LINKS:
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/27710
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