His foreign awards and decorations included the French Legion of Honor (Chevalier) and Croix de Guerre with palm.

[12] Finley graduated in June 1916 ranked eighth of 125, and among his classmates who also became general officers were Fay B. Prickett, Horace L. McBride, Louis E. Hibbs, William M. Hoge, Dwight Johns, Calvin DeWitt Jr., Robert Neyland, Stanley E. Reinhart, and Wilhelm D.

[13] His high class standing enabled him to obtain a second lieutenant's commission in the Corps of Engineers, the branch choice of most top tier graduates.

[10] After receiving his commission, Finley was assigned to the 1st Regiment of Engineers, which performed duty at Eagle Pass, Texas during the Mexican Border War.

[10] The 7th Engineers arrived in Rimaucourt in April 1918, and in May Finley was promoted to temporary major and assigned to command the regiment's 2nd Battalion.

[10] He directed this school until the armistice of 11 November 1918 ended the war, and remained in this position during the early stages of the occupation of the Rhineland.

[10] He was then posted to Rumelange, Luxembourg, where he resumed command of 2nd Battalion, 7th Engineers, which he led through its return to the United States and demobilization at Camp Gordon, Georgia in June 1920.

[14] In the summer of 1921, he performed duty with the 34th Infantry Regiment and the Citizens' Military Training Camp at Fort Meade, Maryland.

[14] From September 1921 to January 1922, Finley was a student at the British Army's Machine Gun School in Seaford, East Sussex.

[14] From June 1924 to July 1926, he commanded Company M, 12th Infantry Regiment at Fort Washington, Maryland, which included duty in Philadelphia during the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition.

[14][15] He attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College beginning in August 1931, and graduated in May 1933.

[16] From July 1935 to June 1939, he was head of the Western European Section in the Military Intelligence Division (G-2) of the Army General Staff.

[15] From May to November 1941, Finley was assigned to the Infantry Replacement Center at Camp Croft, South Carolina, where he served as the post's executive officer.

[13] After returning to the United States in January 1946, Finley underwent medical evaluation, and he was retired for disability in September 1946.

[2][20] David DeWees Finley graduated from West Point in 1955, and later completed master's and doctoral degrees at Stanford University.

[22] Renette Ter Bush Finley graduated from Stanford and was the wife of first army officer Gordon B. Rogers Jr. and later James R.