Thomas Jerome Hudner, Jr. Collection

Biographical Information

Name:

Thomas Jerome Hudner, Jr.

State of Birth:

MA

Home State:

MA

Note

MV03 contains an interview with Gordon Ray Roberts AFC 2001/001/89772.

Gender

Male

---

War or Conflict

Korean War, 1950-1953

Military Status

Veteran

Dates of Service

1943-1973

Entrance into Service

Commissioned

Branch of Service

Navy

Unit of Service

USS Helena (CA 75); VF-32 (Fighter Squadron), USS Leyte (CV 32); Naval Air Advanced Training Command (NAATC); Executive Officer, USS Kitty Hawk (CVA 63); Staff, Joint Chiefs of Staff

Location of Service

Annapolis, Maryland; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Pensacola, Florida; Corpus Christi, Texas; Lebanon; Korea

Battles/Campaigns

Chosin Reservoir

Highest Rank

Lieutenant

Prisoner of War

No

Service History Note

The veteran earned the Medal of Honor for his service in trying to save the life of Ensign Jesse L. Brown, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War. The veteran attended the Naval Academy and graduated in 1946. The veteran was serving with VF-32 during the Korean War flying F4U-4 Corsair fighters. On 12/04/1950 he crash landed his own aircraft near the Chosin Reservoir to try to rescue Ensign Jesse L. Brown, another VF-32 pilot that had been shot down. Ensign Brown was wounded and pinned in his cockpit by aircraft wreckage. Hudner worked to free the Brown with a small hand ax. He was presented with the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman on 04/13/1951.

---

War or Conflict

Vietnam War, 1961-1975

Military Status

Veteran

Entrance into Service

Commissioned

Branch of Service

Navy

Unit of Service

60th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron; Air War College; VF-53 (Fighter Squadron), USS Ticonderoga (CVA 14); VT-24 (Training Squadron); Commander in Chief Pacific Command (CINCPAC)

Location of Service

Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts; Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; North Island, California; Vietnam

Highest Rank

Captain

Prisoner of War

No

Collection Information

Type of Resource:

Video: Betacam SP [1 item] -- Oral history interview

Video: Betacam SP [1 item] -- Oral history interview

Video: Betacam SP [1 item] -- Oral history interview

Manuscript: Biographical information [2 items] -- Typewritten document

Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording

Interviewer:

unknown interviewer

Contributor:

Thomas Wilkerson

Contributor Affiliation/Organization:

Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation (CMOH)

Collection #:

AFC/2001/001/89696

Subjects:

Hudner Jr., Thomas Jerome

Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal Narratives

United States. Navy.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal Narratives

United States. Navy.

Cite as:

Thomas Jerome Hudner, Jr. Collection
(AFC/2001/001/89696), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress