Coast Guard presents Purple Heart to Finch family in Chatham, Massachusetts
U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 08/26/2019 08:57 PM EDT
Imagery Release |
U.S. Coast Guard 1st District Northeast |
Coast Guard presents Purple Heart to Finch family in Chatham, Massachusetts
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BOSTON — The Coast Guard First District Commander, Rear Adm. Andy Tiongson, U.S. Representative Bill Keating, local Coast Guard units and Cape Cod communities honored Seaman Norman Wood Finch, Monday. Officials presented Norman’s Great-nephews, Stephen and Bradley, with a Purple Heart for making the ultimate sacrifice during WWI. Norman Finch enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard on June 7, 1917, and served as a crew member aboard the Tampa. One of the six Coast Guard Cutters assigned to the Navy, Tampa was on convoy duty in European theater when the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine and sunk with all hands aboard on Sept. 26, 1918, in Bristol Channel, England.
In 1999, Commandant Admiral James Loy authorized the posthumous awarding of the Purple Heart Medal to the crew of USS Tampa. The Coast Guard continues to identify families who have yet to receive their ancestors’ Purple Heart. Visit the Coast Guard Historian's Office for more information.
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