Jesse L. Brown - Legacy

Legacy

"He died in the wreckage of his airplane with courage and unfathomable dignity. He willingly gave his life to tear down barriers to freedom of others."

—Hudner, speaking of Brown 17 February 1973, at the commissioning of the USS Jesse L. Brown

For his actions in Korea leading up to his death, Brown was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart Medal, and the Air Medal. For the failed rescue attempt, Hudner received the Medal of Honor, the highest valor award presented by the U.S. military.

Brown's shipmates memorialized him in a shipwide newspaper as "a Christian soldier, a gentleman, a shipmate, and friend ... His courage and faith ... shone like a beacon for all to see." As word of his death spread, Brown inspired numerous other African Americans to become pilots, notably Seaman Apprentice Frank E. Petersen. Petersen would become the first African-American Marine Corps aviator and the first African-American Marine Corps general, being graduated from the Naval Aviation Training Program in 1952 and retiring from the military after 38 years in 1988 with the rank of lieutenant general.

On 17 February 1973, the Navy commissioned the Knox-class frigate USS Jesse L. Brown (FF-1089), the first U.S. ship named in honor of an African American. Present at the commissioning ceremony in Boston, Massachusetts, were Daisy Brown Thorne (who had remarried), Pamela Brown, and Hudner, who gave a dedication. The ship was decommissioned on 27 July 1994 and renamed the Damiyat after being commissioned with the Egyptian navy.

An extensive biography of Brown later was compiled by author Theodore Taylor, who had served in Korea and had been deeply moved by the news of Brown's death at the time. Taylor interviewed many of Brown's closest friends and family and consulted Daisy Brown's personal diary and records from the Leyte's ship log while preparing his 300-page book, published in 2007.