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Korean War — Battle of Chosin Reservoir

Battle I'll Never Forget Jesse Brown and Thomas Hudner

Tom Hudner (right) did his best to save friend Jesse Brown (left) — Courtesy Adam Makos


IN NOVEMBER 1950, the Chinese 9th Army launched attacks on the U.S. X Corps in the Chosin Reservoir. Over 17 days, U.S. forces succeeded in breaking the encirclement and retreating to South Korea. In the early afternoon of December 4, Lieutenant Tom Hudner, 26, was part of a six-aircraft flight supporting the Marines from the air; he served as wingman to Ensign Jesse Brown, the first African American Navy pilot. When Brown's Corsair fighter-bomber was hit by small-arms fire and he was forced to crash-land on the slope of a mountain behind enemy lines, Hudner had to make a decision.

I COULD SEE smoke coming from the nose of Jesse's airplane. I figured the fire would consume the airplane, and announced I was going in after him. There was absolute silence on the radio. I knew I could be punished. It's bad enough to lose one pilot, let alone two. But Jesse was a friend, not just mine but everybody's in the squadron. So I decided to crash-land near his airplane. I know he would have done the same thing for me.

"I was going in after him. It's bad enough to lose one pilot, let alone two. But Jesse was a friend..."

My thinking was, It's just a matter of pulling him out of the cockpit, getting him away from the plane and waiting for the rescue helicopter. It was bitter cold when I got out of my plane. And it was late afternoon, so it was becoming colder. I had sprained my back in the crash, but it didn't slow me. I knew there was a possibility of Chinese troops arriving and that things could go to hell at any time.

When I got to the plane, Jesse was almost frozen. His lips were blue, and he was shivering. The fuselage had crushed his leg and pinned his knee to his instrument panel. I grabbed him by the jacket and tried pulling him out, but he was trapped. And yet he was so calm. "Just tell Daisy how much I love her," he told me, closing his eyes.

I radioed up to the helicopter to go get an ax. By the time it reached us, the sun was setting. I grabbed the ax and started swinging at the fuselage, but it wouldn't budge. I couldn't free him, and the helicopter pilot didn't have instruments to fly at night. I promised Jesse we'd be back, but his head was slumped forward, and he'd stopped breathing. Then, once we were in the air, we saw Chinese soldiers climbing the slope of the mountain.

Hudner received the Medal of Honor for his efforts to save Jesse Brown. He retired from the Navy in 1973; now 91, he resides in Concord, Massachusetts. Brown's remains were never recovered.

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