Destroyer’s name honours aviator who tried to save comrade
BATH, Maine — Naval aviator Thomas Hudner watched helplessly as a fellow fighter pilot’s plane turned into a death trap after a crash-landing behind enemy lines during the Korean War. The injured pilot was pinned in the cockpit, unable to escape from the burning plane.
The lieutenant did the only thing he could to help: He crash-landed his own plane, climbed out and tried to save his comrade, Ensign Jesse Brown.
“What Tom did is one of the greatest feats of bravery in any war,” said Adam Makos, who wrote a book about the aviator called “Devotion.”
The 92-year-old Medal of Honor recipient watched Saturday as the future USS Thomas Hudner was christened during a snowstorm at Bath Iron Works in Maine.