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Photo Courtesy of HomeOfHeroes.com |
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Lieutenant (j.g.) Hudner was a pilot in Fighter Squadron 32, who attempted to rescue a squadron mate whose plane was struck by antiaircraft fire and trailing smoke, was forced down behind enemy lines. Quickly maneuvering to circle the downed pilot and protect him from enemy troops infesting the area, Lieutenant (j.g.) Hudner risked his life to save the injured flier who was trapped alive in the burning wreckage. Fully aware of the extreme danger in landing on the rough mountainous terrain and the scant hope of escape or survival in subzero temperature, he put his plane down skillfully in a deliberate wheels-up landing in the presence of enemy troops. With his bare hands, he packed the fuselage with snow to keep the flames away from the pilot and struggled to pull him free. Unsuccessful in this, he returned to his crashed aircraft and radioed other airborne planes, requesting that a helicopter be dispatched with an ax and fire extinguisher. He then remained on the spot despite the continuing danger from enemy action and, with the assistance of the rescue pilot, renewed a desperate but unavailing battle against time, cold, and flames. |
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Thomas Hudner graduated from the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Class of 1947. Jesse LeRoy Brown, the fellow pilot Tom Hudner crash landed next to in efforts to rescue was the Navy's FIRST Black Aviator, and the first Black American to have a Naval Ship named for him. |
The Story of Tom Hudner and Jesse Brown
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