Remembering Lt. Thomas Hudner Jr. and Ensign Jesse Brown

Lt. Thomas Hudner Jr. was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1951 by President Truman for his attempts to rescue his fellow pilot, Ensign Jesse Brown. Ensign Brown, the first African-American naval aviator, was shot down by the Chinese over the Chosen Reservoir in the winter of 1950. Braving extreme cold, darkness and Chinese forces, Lt. Hudner landed in extremely dangerous conditions and tried to extricate his flying mate unsuccessfully. The next day Lt. Hudner directed aircraft to locate the site of Ensign Brown’s body and set the area ablaze for a warrior’s funeral. In 2013, the aging Lt. Hudner went back to North Korea to locate the site of Ensign Brown’s body.