page_title: Thomas J. Hudner Jr.
section_title: Later life and death
hierarchical_section_title: Thomas J. Hudner Jr. / Later life and death
caption_attribution_description: English: Author Adam Makos and Dick Bonelli in talk with North Korean officials for the handing over of a Korean War pilot Jesse Brown. Brown was the first African-American naval aviator. During the Korean war, he was Hudner’s wingman during sorties they flew off the deck of the USS Leyte aircraft carrier. The two flew single-engine Corsair (F4U) fighters to provide critical air support for Marines during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir - a pivotal moment in the war.
context_page_description: Thomas Jerome Hudner Jr. was an officer of the United States Navy and a naval aviator. He rose to the rank of captain, and received the Medal of Honor for his actions in trying 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 and the United States Naval Academy. Initially uninterested in aviation, he eventually took up flying and joined Fighter Squadron 32, flying the F4U Corsair at the outbreak of the Korean War. Arriving near Korea in October 1950, he flew support missions from the aircraft carrier USS Leyte.
  On 4 December 1950, Hudner and Brown were among a group of pilots on patrol near the Chosin Reservoir when Brown's Corsair was struck by ground fire from Chinese troops and crashed. In an attempt to save Brown from his burning aircraft, Hudner intentionally crash-landed his own aircraft on a snowy mountain in freezing temperatures to help Brown. In spite of these efforts, Brown died of his injuries and Hudner was forced to evacuate, having also been injured in the landing.
  Following the incident, Hudner held positions aboard several U.S.
context_section_description: 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 Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer would be named USS Thomas Hudner. The ship was christened on April 1, 2017, with Hudner in attendance, and commissioned in Boston on 1 December 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 is more predictable.
  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, Massachusetts, 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.
caption: 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.
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