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Jesse LeRoy Brown was born in Hattiesburg, Miss. on 13 October 1926, and enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1946. He was appointed a Midshipman, at the Ohio State University NROTC the following year. After attending Navy pre-flight school and flight training, he was designated a Naval Aviator in October 1948, the first African-American naval aviator in the United States Navy. Midshipman Brown was then assigned to Fighter Squadron 32. He received his commission as Ensign in April 1949.
During the Korean War, his squadron operated from USS Leyte (CV 32), flying F4U-4 Corsair fighters in support of United Nations forces. On 4 December 1950, while on a close air support mission near the Chosin Reservoir, Ensign Brown's plane was hit by enemy fire and crashed. Despite heroic efforts by other aviators, notably Lt.(jg) Thomas J. Hudner, Jr., he could not be rescued and died in his aircraft. Ensign Jesse L. Brown was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his Korean War combat service.
USS Jesse L. Brown (DE 1089) was the first ship named in his honor.
(Official U.S. Navy Photograph: #80-G-708014 and 030318-N-0000X-002, now in the collections of the National Archives) |
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18 March 1972: Westwego, La. - USS Jesse L. Brown (DE 1089) is ready for launching at Avondale Shipyards. (U.S. Navy photo #NH96769 from the Naval History and Heritage Command) |
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18 March 1972: Westwego, La. - The ship’s sponsor and others on the christening platform during launching ceremonies at Avondale Shipyards. Present are (left to right): Radm John W. Dolan, Jr., USN, Deputy Commander for Shipyard Management and Program Director for Shipyard Modernization, Naval Ship Systems Command; Mrs. Gilbert W. Thorne, Ship's Sponsor; Mr. Henry Z. Carter, President, Avondale Shipyards, Inc.; Captain Thomas J. Hudner, USN, Head of Aviation Technical Training, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. (U.S. Navy photo #1151107 from the Naval History and Heritage Command) |
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5 December 1974: Naval Station Charleston, S.C. - Jesse L. Brown ties up as she returns from maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea with other ships of Destroyer Squadron Four. (U.S. Navy photo #NH96768 by PH1 Milt Putnam from the Naval History and Heritage Command) |
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5 December 1974: Naval Station Charleston, S.C. - The destroyer escort USS Jesse L. Brown tied up alongside a seawall at the Charleston Naval Base, South Carolina, following her return from maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea. She was a unit of Destroyer Squadron Four. (U.S. Navy photo #NH96770 by PH1 Milt Putnam from the Naval History and Heritage Command) |
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January 1979: Underway off the Maine coast. (U.S. Navy photo #NH96767 by PH1 Milt Putnam from the Naval History and Heritage Command) |
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14 January 1979: At sea - An aerial port beam view of the frigate USS Jesse L. Brown (FF 1089) underway. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-82-00352 by PH1 R.J. Lincoln from the Defense Visual Information Center) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, P.R. - The frigates Jesse L. Brown and USS Trippe (FF 1075) are at their pier while loading operations take place in preparation for exercise Unitas XX. Jesse L. Brown is tied up behind Forrestal. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09472 by PH2 J. Vinson from the DVIC) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): A port beam view of Jesse L. Brown. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09534 by PH2 J. Vinson from the DVIC) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): At sea - A port beam view of Jesse L. Brown with the city skyline in the background during exercise Unitas XX. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09756 by PH2 J. Vinson from the DVIC/a>) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): A port quarter view of the frigates USS Trippe (FF 1075) on the left and Jesse L. Brown on the right. Note the Argentine aircraft carrier Veinticinco De Mayo (V-2) in the background. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09726 by PH2 K. Brewer from the DVIC) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): A starboard bow view of the docked frigates USS Trippe (FF 1075), left, and Jesse L. Brown, right. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09754 by PH2 K. Brewer from the DVIC) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): A starboard quarter view of Jesse L. Brown. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09556 by PH2 K. Brewer from the DVIC) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): A view of the pier and Jesse L. Brown, as seen from the deck of the guided missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 45), just before docking. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09722 by PHAN R. Maxwell from the DVIC) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): A bow view of the ships involved in exercise Unitas XX. From left to right, the guided missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 45), the frigates Jesse L. Brown and USS Trippe (FF 1075). (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09584 by PH2 K. Brewer from the DVIC) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): A starboard quarter view of the Unitas XX ships after their arrival in port during the exercise. From left to right, the frigates USS Trippe (FF 1075), Jesse L. Brown and the guided missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 45). (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09712 by PH2 J. Vinson from the DVIC) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): Two crewmen aboard Jesse L. Brown prepare a drone for launching. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09689 by PHAN R. Maxwell from the DVIC) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): A starboard beam view of Jesse L. Brown. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09551 by PH2 K. Brewer from the DVIC) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): A distant view of the frigate USS Trippe (FF 1075), Jesse L. Brown (foreground), the Venezuelan ships Almirante Clemente (F-11), General Jose Trinidad Moran (F-12), Falcon (D-22) and Carabobo (D-21) (background). (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09567 by PHAN R. Maxwell from the DVIC) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): The frigates Jesse L. Brown and USS Trippe (FF 1075) are docked side by side. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09563 by PHAN R. Maxwell from the DVIC) |
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1979 (exact date unknown, taken during UNITAS XX): A starboard beam view of Jesse L. Brown. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-82-09488 by PH2 K. Brewer from the DVIC) |
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shot on return transit from Med Cruise of 87-88, by Lt. Simmons from Brown's LAMPS helo |
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15 March 1989: Naval Station Mayport, Fla. - A Mark 16 Phalanx close-in weapons system (CIWS) on the port bow sponson of the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal (CV 59). Jesse L. Brown is tied up behind the Forrestal. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-89-08610 from the DVIC) |
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13 November 1989: Rodman Naval Station, Balboa, Panama - Tied up at the naval station during the multinational joint naval exercise Unitas XXX are, from top: the destroyer USS Briscoe (DD 977), the guided missile destroyer USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23), Jesse L. Brown, the tank landing ship USS Manitowoc (LST 1180), and the Colombian frigates ARC Independiente (54) and ARC Antioquia (53). (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DA-SC-90-05821 by SPC Mark Wiliams from the DVIC) |
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1 April 1993: Mobile, Ala. - Jesse L. Brown and USS Moinester (FF 1097) are moored together at a pier at a Mobile shipyard. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-93-04164 by OS2 John Bouvia from the DVIC) |
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1 December 2011: Washington, D.C. - Medal of Honor recipient retired Capt. Thomas Hudner salutes while taps is played during the Centennial of Naval Aviation wreath laying ceremony at the United States Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., Hudner received the medal of honor for his attempted rescue of Ens. Jesse Brown during the Korean War. Then Lt.(jg) Hudner crash landed his F4U Corsair alongside the aircraft wreckage Ensign Brown was pinned in. Unfortunately Ens. Brown could not be extricated and died in the wreck. (U.S. Navy photo #111201-N-KQ655-136 by MC3 Mikelle D. Smith from the Navy News Stand) |
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