Leslie Hodges Finley

Leslie Hodges Finley was born on September 12, 1919 in Nelson, Nebraska to Leslie Crosby Finley and Viola (Dot) Hodges Finley. Finley's parents divorced when he was young and he lived with his grandparents for several years.  His mother married Karl K. Barnard on July 4, 1926, and they eventually relocated to Spokane, Washington, where Finley joined them. He graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane in 1937.  Finley attended Washington State College (WSC) for the 1937 to 1938 school year as a Pharmacy major.  He also attended Gonzaga University briefly. After leaving college, Finley moved to Los Angeles and became a partner in a statistics business with two other people. He enlisted in the United States Army Infantry on February 21, 1941 at Fort MacArthur, San Pedro, California.  Assigned to the 31st Infantry Regiment (Philippine Division) as a Private, and he was sent to Manila in April 1941. Finley survived the Japanese assault on Bataan and Corregidor in the Philippines during the first half of 1942, and he was taken prisoner in May 1942 and sent to the Cabanatuan prison camp. He contracted malaria and died in Cabanatuan on July 26, 1942. He is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.