Thomas J. Hudner Jr.

His family had a long history in the academy, with his father graduating in 1911 and his uncle, Harold Hudner, graduating in 1921.

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 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 in Andover, Massachusetts, 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.

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.

One of 10 from Phillips to be accepted into the academy from his class, he entered the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1943 and graduated in 1946.

By the time he was commissioned, however, World War II had ended.

Hudner attended the Naval Academy with a number of other notable classmates, including Marvin J. Becker, James B. Stockdale, Jimmy Carter, and Stansfield Turner.

He played football at the academy, eventually becoming a starting running back for the junior varsity team.

After graduation, Hudner served as a communications officer aboard several surface ships.

During his initial years in the military, Hudner said he had no interest in aircraft.

After a one-year tour of duty aboard the Baltimore-class heavy cruiser USS Helena (CA-75), which was operating off the coast of Taiwan, he transferred to a post as a communications officer at the Naval Base Pearl Harbor where he served for another year.

Eventually, the three younger Hudner children would attend the academy as well; James in 1944, Richard in 1946 and Phillip in 1954.

During his time in the high school, Thomas was active in several organizations, serving as a team captain in the school track team as well as a member of the football and lacrosse teams, a class officer, a member of student council, and an assistant house counselor.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into World War II, Hudner heard a speech by academy headmaster Claude Fuess which he later said inspired him to join the military.

By 1948, Hudner became interested in aviation, and applied to flight school, seeing it as "a new challenge".

He was accepted into Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida, where he completed basic flight training, and was transferred to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas, where he completed advanced flight training and qualified as a naval aviator in August 1949.

After a brief posting in Lebanon, Hudner was assigned to VF-32 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Leyte (CV-32), piloting the F4U Corsair.

He later said he enjoyed this assignment, as he considered the Corsair to be "safe and comfortable".

Arriving near Korea in October 1950, he flew support missions from the aircraft carrier USS Leyte (CV-32).

On December 4, 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 leave Brown's body behind, as a rescue helicopter could not fly in the dark and Hudner had suffered his own injuries in the landing.

On the night of June 25, 1950, ten divisions of the North Korean People's Army launched a full-scale invasion of the nation's neighbor to the south, the Republic of Korea.

The force of 89,000 men moved in six columns, catching the Republic of Korea Army by surprise, resulting in a rout.

The smaller South Korean army suffered from widespread lack of organization and equipment, and was unprepared for war.

The numerically superior North Korean forces destroyed isolated resistance from the 38,000 South Korean soldiers on the front before it began moving steadily south.

Most of South Korea's forces retreated in the face of the invasion.

The North Koreans were well on their way to South Korea's capital of Seoul within hours, forcing the government and its shattered army to retreat further south.

To prevent South Korea's collapse the United Nations Security Council voted to send military forces.

The United States' Seventh Fleet dispatched Task Force 77, led by the fleet carrier USS Valley Forge (CV-45), and the British Far East Fleet dispatched several ships, including HMS Triumph (R16), to provide air and naval support.

Although the navies blockaded North Korea and launched aircraft to delay the North Korean forces these efforts alone did not stop the North Korean Army juggernaut on its southern advance.

U.S. President Harry S. Truman later ordered ground troops into the country to supplement the air support.

Following the incident, Hudner held positions aboard several U.S. Navy ships and with a number of aviation units, including a brief stint as executive officer of USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) during a tour in the Vietnam War, before retiring in 1973.

In subsequent years, he worked for various veterans' organizations in the United States.

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer guided missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) is named for him.