A Personal Color Bearer of The U.S. Navy Ceremonial

A Personal Color Bearer of The U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard carries the Medal of Honor flag during the full honors funeral of U.S. Navy Capt. Thomas J. Hudner in Section 54 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Apr. 4, 2018.
From the U.S. Navy: Accepted into the Naval Academy in 1943, Hudner was commissioned as an officer in 1946 and became an aviation officer in 1949. On Dec. 4, 1950, Hudner and his squadron were providing air support to American troops during the battle of the Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War when one of Hudner’s squadron mates, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, the first African-American to be trained as a naval aviator, was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire.
Seeing that Brown was still alive in the wreckage, Hudner decided to crash-land his own aircraft in an effort to render aid to his fellow aviator. Unfortunately, when Hudner made his way to Brown, he realized that Brown’s right leg was crushed under the damaged instrument panel of his aircraft. Hudner stayed with Brown, continuing to attempt to free him, until a U.S. helicopter arrived to help. Together for almost 45 minutes, Hudner and the helicopter pilot used an ax to hack away at the damaged plane but they could not free Brown. Even an attempt to amputate his leg was not successful.
As nightfall approached with the corresponding drop in temperature, Hudner and the helicopter pilot reached a grim decision to leave Brown behind since the pilot would be unable to fly in the dark. Brown was already near death and died shortly afterwards.
Hudner’s attempt to save Brown came only two years after the U.S. Navy had made the decision to desegregate. For the rest of his life, Hudner said that the reason he landed to save Brown was because Brown, like all service members, would have done the same for him.
On April 13, 1951, Hudner Received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Chosin Reservoir. He served 27 years in the U.S. Navy.
(U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlin