Jesse L. Brown

Jesse LeRoy Brown
Brown in 1948
Birth name	Jesse LeRoy Brown
Born	October 13, 1926 Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States of America
Died	December 4, 1950(1950-12-04) (aged 24) Chosin Reservoir, South Hamgyong Province, Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Buried	Chosin Reservoir, South Hamgyong Province, Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1946–1950
Rank	Ensign
Service number	504477[1]
Unit	Fighter Squadron 32
Battles/wars	Korean War Second Phase Offensive Battle of Chosin Reservoir (DOW)
Awards	Distinguished Flying Cross Purple Heart

Jesse LeRoy Brown (October 13, 1926 – December 4, 1950) was a United States Navy officer. He was the first African-American aviator to complete the United States Navy's basic flight training program (though not the first African-American Navy aviator), the first African-American naval officer killed in the Korean War, and a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to an impoverished family, Brown was avidly interested in aircraft from a young age. He graduated as salutatorian of his high school, notwithstanding its racial segregation, and later earned a degree from Ohio State University. Brown enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1946, becoming a midshipman. Brown earned his pilot wings on October 21, 1948, amid a flurry of press coverage. In January 1949 he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 32 (VF-32) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Leyte based at Naval Air Station Quonset Point.

At the outset of the Korean War, Leyte was ordered to the Korean Peninsula, arriving in October 1950. VF-32 flew F4U-4 Corsair fighters in support of United Nations forces. Brown, an ensign, had already flown 20 combat missions when his Corsair came under fire and crashed on a remote mountaintop on December 4, 1950, while supporting ground troops at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Brown died of his wounds despite the efforts of his wingman, Thomas J. Hudner Jr., who intentionally crashed his own aircraft nearby in a rescue attempt, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Brown's life in the segregated and desegregated U.S. military has been memorialized in books and film, including the 2022 film Devotion.^[2] The frigate USS Jesse L. Brown (FF-1089) was named in his honor.