Thomas J. Hudner

Thomas Jerome Hudner Jr. (August 31, 1924 – November 13, 2017) was a United States Navy officer and naval aviator. He rose to the rank of captain and received the Medal of Honor for attempting to save the life of his wingman, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War.

Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, Hudner attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Initially uninterested in aviation, he eventually trained as a pilot and joined Fighter Squadron 32, flying the F4U Corsair at the outbreak of the Korean War. Arriving off Korea in October 1950, he flew support missions from the aircraft carrier .

On December 4, 1950, Hudner and Brown were among a group of pilots on patrol near the Chosin Reservoir when Brown's Corsair was hit by ground fire from Chinese troops and crashed. In an effort to save Brown from his burning aircraft, Hudner intentionally crash-landed his own aircraft on a snowy mountainside in freezing temperatures. Despite his efforts, Brown died of his injuries, and Hudner was forced to leave his body behind, as a rescue helicopter could not remain after nightfall and Hudner had been injured in the landing.

Following the incident, Hudner served aboard several U.S. Navy ships and with multiple aviation units, including a brief stint as executive officer of during a tour in the Vietnam War, before retiring in 1973. In later years, he worked with various veterans' organizations in the United States. The guided missile destroyer is named in his honor.

Early life and education Hudner was born August 31, 1924, in Fall River, Massachusetts. His father, Thomas Hudner Sr., was a businessman of Irish descent who ran a chain of grocery stores, Hudner's Markets. Three brothers were later born, named James, Richard, and Phillip.

Hudner entered the prestigious Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, in 1939.

Hudner receives the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman on April 13, 1951. Truman congratulates Hudner after presenting him with the Medal of Honor.

Hudner was grounded for a month, as he had injured his back in the landing, an injury he later said persisted for 6to 8years. He flew 27 combat missions during the war, serving there until January 20, 1951, when Leyte was rotated back to the Atlantic Fleet. On April 13, 1951, Hudner received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman, meeting Brown's widow, Daisy Brown, in the process. The two stayed in regular contact for at least 50 years following this meeting. He was the first service member to receive the medal during the Korean War, though several others would receive the medal for actions which occurred before December 4, 1950.

Hudner said he was occasionally criticized for his actions, and that "about 90" people had told him he acted recklessly. His commanders noted his actions may have endangered the helicopter pilot and sacrificed an aircraft, criticisms Hudner later said did not make him regret his decision, as he felt it was a spur-of-the-moment action. Still, commanders later issued orders forbidding pilots from crash-landing in a similar way to try to save downed wingmen. On later reflection, Hudner indicated he did not consider himself a hero for his actions.

Later Navy career

After receiving the Medal of Honor, Hudner was transferred to the United States and served as a flight instructor at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas in 1952 and 1953. Following this, he served as a staff officer for Carrier Division 3, which at the time was part of Task Force 77 and operating around Japan, in 1953 and 1954. In 1955 and 1956, he served in Air Development Squadron 3 at Naval Air Station Atlantic City in New Jersey, where he flew developmental and experimental aircraft. During this time, he was trained on jet engine-powered aircraft.

Beginning in October 1957, Hudner served in an exchange program with the U.S. Air Force, flying for two years with the 60th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Otis Air Force Base in Barnstable County, Massachusetts. During this assignment, he flew the F-94 Starfire and the F-101 Voodoo. He was then promoted to commander and served as aide to the Chief of the Bureau of Naval Weapons until 1962, when he attended the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Upon graduating in July 1963, he returned to flying duty and was appointed the executive officer of Fighter Squadron 53, flying the F-8E Crusader aboard . After serving as executive officer, Hudner assumed command of VF-53. Following this assignment, he was transferred to a position as Leadership Training Officer at the office of Commander, Naval Air Forces, at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, California.

Hudner was promoted to captain in 1965, taking command of Training Squadron 24 at Naval Air Station Chase Field in Bee County, Texas, which he commanded in 1965 and 1966. In 1966 he was assigned to , first as navigator, then as the ship's executive officer. Kitty Hawk deployed off the shore of South Vietnam in 1966 and 1967, launching missions in support of the Vietnam War, and he served on the ship during this tour but saw no combat and flew none of the missions himself. In 1968, he was assigned as the operations officer for the Southeast Asia Air Operations division of the U.S. Navy. That year, he married Georgea Smith, a widow with three children, whom he had met in San Diego. The two had one son together, Thomas Jerome Hudner III, born in 1971. Hudner's final Navy posting was as the head of Aviation Technical Training in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D.C., a post which he held until his retirement in February 1973.

On February 17, 1973, days before Hudner's retirement, the Navy commissioned the , the third U.S. ship to be named in honor of an African American. Present at the commissioning ceremony in Boston, Massachusetts, were Daisy Brown Thorne, who had remarried, her daughter Pamela Brown, and Hudner, who gave a dedication. The ship was decommissioned on July 27, 1994, and sold to Egypt.

Later life and death Hudner (right) speaking with Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter at the U.S. Naval Academy in December 2008.

After retiring, Hudner initially worked as a management consultant, and later worked with the United Service Organizations. Because of his Medal of Honor, he worked regularly with various veterans groups in his retirement as a leader in the veterans' community, otherwise living a quiet life. From 1991 to 1999, he served as Commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services, until he gave up that position to Thomas G. Kelley, another Medal of Honor recipient.

He received a number of honors in his later life. In 1989, he was honored by the Gathering of Eagles Program of the Air Force at Maxwell Air Force Base. In 2001, Hudner presented Daisy Brown Thorne with several of Jesse Brown's posthumous medals at Mississippi State University. In May 2012, the Secretary of the Navy announced that an guided missile destroyer would be named . The ship was christened on April 1, 2017, with Hudner in attendance, and commissioned in Boston on December 1, 2018.

After 1991, Hudner lived in Concord, Massachusetts, with his wife, Georgea. In July 2013, he visited Pyongyang, North Korea, in an attempt to recover Jesse Brown's remains from the crash site. He was told by North Korean authorities to return in September when the weather would be more predictable.

Author Adam Makos negotiating with North Korean officials for the retrieval of Jesse L. Brown remains. Makos was the author of the biography featuring the two men published in 2015. Hudner's official biography—Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice—was released in October 2015, after seven years of collaboration with author Adam Makos.

Hudner died at his home in Concord on November 13, 2017, at the age of 93. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery on April 4, 2018, in a ceremony attended by General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Hudner is portrayed by Glen Powell in the 2022 film Devotion.

Medal of Honor citation Hudner was one of 11 men awarded the Medal of Honor during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. He was the first of seven U.S. Navy servicemen, and one of the two Naval aviators, to be awarded the Medal of Honor in the Korean War.

alt=A light blue neck ribbon with a gold star shaped medallion hanging from it. The ribbon is similar in shape to a bowtie with 13 white stars in the center of the ribbon.

Awards and Decorations

Order of Military Merit

In film and literature Film: Devotion (2022) Book: Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice (2015)