Trailing oil, the Corsair plummeted toward the frozen peaks below, deep behind enemy lines in North Korea. The snow-covered slopes loomed closer and closer as the pilot dropped his bombs, hoping to avoid an explosion on impact.
Bang! The plane slammed into the earth wheels up, the fuselage crumpling at the cockpit.
Ensign Jesse Brown opened his canopy and waved. He was alive.
To a man, his buddies circling above breathed sighs of relief. They turned their attention to the next set of problems: Brown wasn’t getting out. He appeared to be stuck in the cockpit and the engine was smoking. The temperature was bitterly cold, and it was only a matter of time before he froze to death or the plane exploded — if the enemy didn’t get to him first. Hordes of Chinese soldiers were nearby and likely knew an American pilot had gone down.
As the flight leader called for a rescue helicopter, Lt. j.g. Thomas Hudner Jr., Brown’s wingman, made a decision. “I’m going in,” he radioed. He squared his jaw and prepared to land.
So began a legacy that continues today, as the Navy prepares to commission USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116).
