Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

‘One of The Greatest Feats of Bravery in Any War’: This Korean War Vet Absolutely Deserves the Honor He Just Received

Credit: The Associated Press/Mary Schwalm
Credit: The Associated Press/Mary Schwalm
Share Tweet
By Faithwire Staff
Editor

April 3, 2017

A 92-year-old Medal of Honor recipient, who crashed-landed his own plane during the Korean War in an attempt to save a fellow aviator, was honored Saturday when the U.S. Navy named destroyer battleship after him for his bravery.

IN 1950, Naval aviator Thomas Hudner watched as a fellow pilot’s plane burst into flames after crash=landing behind enemy lines, The Associated Press reported. The pilot, 24-year-old Ensign Jesse Brown, was trapped into the cockpit of the burning plane.

READ: 92-Year-Old Veteran Finally Receives Purple Heart Earned in WWII More Than 7 Decades Later

The only thing the lieutenant could think to do was crash land his own plane.

“What Tom did is one of the greatest feats of bravery in any war,” said Adam Makos, who authored a book about Hudner called “Devotion.”

During a snow storm in Bath Ironworks in Maine on Saturday, Hudner watched from his wheelchair as the future USS Thomas Hudner was christened. His wife, Georgea, children and the ship’s sponsors – as well as Brown’s daughter and two brothers – braved the wet and cold alongside Hudner.

Credit: The Boston Globe/Yoon S. Byun
Thomas Hudner greeted John “Red” Parkinson, who was a Marine in the Korean War and fought in the Chosin Reservoir, at a reception after the christening of the USS Hudner.

Other Medal of Honor recipients were also in the audience, as well as Marine Corps veterans who credited naval aviators for saving their lives during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in North Korea, where brutal cold and enemy bullets took the lives of Marines.

“Without the fighter pilots, we wouldn’t be here today,” said John “Red” Parkinson, a Marine corporal during the battle.

Parkinson commented that the snowy weather seemed appropriate for the ceremony, which celebrated heroism and friendship.

Credit: The Associated Press/Mary Schwal,
The future USS Thomas Hudner, a U.S. Navy destroyer named after Korean War veteran Thomas Hudner, looms over the audience during a christening ceremony at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, Saturday, April 1, 2017. Hudner, a naval aviator who crash-landed his plane to try to save a downed pilot in the Korean War was honored with a ship bearing his name.

Brown was the son of Mississippi sharecroppers and became the first black aviator in U.S. Navy history. Hudner, a son of a white well-to-do grocery store owner in Massachusetts, became fast friends with Brown despite their differences.

Credit: The Boston Globe/Yoon S. Byun
Fletcher Brown, who is the brother of Jesse Brown, stood for a portrait before a Christening ceremony for the USS Hudner.

One of Brown’s brothers, Fletcher Brown, said the two bonded over their ambition and love of flying.

“From what I know about Tom and what I know about Jesse, they were probably two of a kind,” Jesse Brown said. “The only difference is one was wealthy and one was a cotton picker.”

Like Faithwire on Facebook

On Dec. 5, 1950, Hudner and Brown departed from aircraft carrier USS Leyte to protect Marines who were outnumbered by Chinese soldiers.

Credit: U.S. Navy via The Associated Press
This circa 1950 photo released by the U.S. Navy shows Jesse Brown in the cockpit of an F4U-4 Corsair fighter at an unidentified location. Brown, the first African-American naval aviator, died when he crashed behind enemy lines during the Korean War. Fellow aviator Thomas Hudner crash-landed his own plane in a futile attempt to save Brown. A U.S. Navy frigate was named for Brown in 1973. A U.S. Navy destroyer will be named for Hudner, where he is expected to attend the ceremony at age 92, Saturday, April 1, 2017, in Bath, Maine.

After Brown’s gull-winged F4U Corsair was struck by fire on the ground, it began to leak oil, and he crash-landed on a snowy mountainside. Brown survived the hard landing but suffered injuries and was trapped inside the airplane, which was burning on enemy territory.

Hudner saw that Brown was unable to escape while circling overhead, and, disobeying orders to not sacrifice his plane, did a wheels-u belly landing in his own plane, running to his friend’s aid. The Boston Globe reported.

.@COMNAVSURFLANT prepares to welcome USS Thomas Hudner – https://t.co/ahXSr3nce5 pic.twitter.com/W4VaWpU4sN

— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) November 18, 2015

The situation was plagued by seemingly opposite dangers: the threat of the fire or the threat of the bitter temperature, which hovered just above zero.

Hudner and a crew from an emergency helicopter took an ax to the plane but was unable to free Brown, who lost consciousness during their efforts.

“An aviator is calculating by nature and all he had to do was look around to know he wasn’t coming home,” Hudner said before Saturday’s ceremony, adding that Brown’s last words to him were: “Just tell Daisy how much I love her,” referencing Brown’s wife.

Capt. Thomas Hudner, one of our state's true heroes, continues to serve

Korea veteran, one last mission http://t.co/aFsgPkAfmV @BostonGlobe

— Gabriel Gomez (@GomezForMA) July 19, 2013

One year later, Hudner kept his promise to return, but Brown’s remains were never found A U.S. Navy frigate was named for him in 1973.

Hudner retired from the Navy in 1973 and later served as Massachusetts commissioner of veterans’ services in the 1990s, according to The Boston Globe.

Champagne was broken on the bow of the 509-foot warship to christen the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, but Hudner, ever so modestly, said the act that led to that moment was as simple as helping a shipmate.

“If it had been me down there on the ground, Jesse would have done the same thing for me,” he said of Brown.

(H/T: The Associated Press)

Other Must-Read Stories:

—96-Year-Old WWII Veteran Celebrates 71st Valentine’s Day with Holocaust Survivor He Saved from Auschwitz

—Even if You Hate Starbucks, You’ll LOVE What They’re Doing for Veterans Right Now

—The Awesome Reason This Veteran is Venturing into War Zones in Search of Dogs

—WATCH: Taylor Swift Surprises 96-year-old World War II Veteran for Christmas

—Navy Couple’s Inspiring Veterans Day Photo Captures the Strength of Military Families

Latest

  • Entertainment

    Blac Chyna Quits OnlyFans, Changes Lifestyle After Becoming Christian: ‘Let Me Let God Lead Me’

  • Faith

    UK Preacher Reported as Terrorist After ‘Disturbing’ ‘Misgendering’ Arrest Wins BIG After Legal Nightmare

  • Faith

    ‘Against Our Christian Beliefs’: NHL Brothers Refuse to Wear LGBT Pride Sweaters

  • News

    Fox News Reporter Hugs Son Live on Air as He Flees School Shooting She Was Covering

  • News

    ‘I Can No Longer Stand on the Sidelines’: After Horrific Shooting, Denver Superintendent Brings Cops Back to Schools in Bold Statement


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Blac Chyna Quits OnlyFans, Changes Lifestyle After Becoming Christian: ‘Let Me Let God Lead Me’
  • UK Preacher Reported as Terrorist After ‘Disturbing’ ‘Misgendering’ Arrest Wins BIG After Legal Nightmare
  • ‘Against Our Christian Beliefs’: NHL Brothers Refuse to Wear LGBT Pride Sweaters
  • Fox News Reporter Hugs Son Live on Air as He Flees School Shooting She Was Covering
  • ‘I Can No Longer Stand on the Sidelines’: After Horrific Shooting, Denver Superintendent Brings Cops Back to Schools in Bold Statement

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • culture
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?