Palo Alto County

 

Lt. Joseph Michael Finn

 

 

IOWAN KILLED IN AUSTRALIA

Lt. Joseph Finn Dies in Crash on Maneuvers

Emmetsburg - 1st Lt. Joseph Finn, 22, pilot of a bomber, was killed in a crash while on maneuvers in Queensland, Australia, Jan. 26. according to a telegram from the war department, received by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Finn of Emmetsburg, Wednesday.

Lieutenant Finn had been in service in New Guinea until the middle of January when he was transferred to Australia.

Mary Finn, sister of Joseph, navy nurse on the west coast, was scheduled to go overseas Feb 1.

Source: Globe-Gazette, Mason City, Iowa, Feb. 3, 1944

Army Nurse Brings News of Brother's Death on Carrier

Estherville, Ia. -- Lt. Mary Finn, army nurse, has arrived home from Pearl Harbor where she was stationed for a year. She brought the news to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Finn of Emmetsburg, that her brother, Patrick Morris Finn, aviation radioman first class, had been killed in action in the south Pacific on board an aircraft carrier on March 19.

Besides his parents and sister, Lt. Finn, he is survived by the widow living at Ruthven, two brothers, Dave in the merchant marine and J. F. Finn of Ruthven and a sister Nick at home. A brother, Lt. Joseph Finn was killed in action in Australia Jan. 26, 1944.

Source: The Sioux City Journal, April 19, 1945

Joseph Michael Finn was born Feb. 16, 1921 to John and Nora Leahy Finn. He died Jan. 26, 1944 and is buried in Saint Johns Catholic Cemetery, Emmetsburg, IA.

Lt. Finn served in World War II with the U.S. Army Air Corps and died as the result of an airplane crash in Australia while in the service of his country.

Source: ancestry.com