Thomas J. Hudner, 93, (center in accompanying photo) a war hero and former Veterans’ Affairs Commissioner, died on Nov. 13, 2017, the Boston Globe reported today.
Bill Brett photographed Mr. Hudner with fellow Medal of Honor recipient Thomas G. Kelley, and Tom Lyons, a veteran who works with other veterans particularly Medal of Honor recipients, for Brett’s book, “Boston: Irish.”
In its obituary, the Globe wrote:Navy Ensign Jesse L. Brown and Lieutenant Thomas J. Hudner Jr. will forever be linked in history by who they were and what they did, decades ago. On Dec. 4, 1950, the two pilots were airborne near North Korea’s Chosin Reservoir when Brown’s plane was shot down, crash landing on a snow-packed mountainside. Spotting Brown waving from the cockpit, Mr. Hudner ditched his own plane near Brown’s and attempted to free his friend from the smoking wreckage. He could not and was evacuated by helicopter as darkness descended.”
