Jesse L. Brown

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This article is about the naval aviator. For the Veterans Affairs administrator, see Jesse Brown.

Jesse L. Brown
Birth name	Jesse LeRoy Brown
Born	13 October 1926 Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Died	4 December 1950 (aged 24) Chosin Reservoir, North Korea
Place of burial	Chosin Reservoir, North Korea
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1946–1950
Rank	Ensign
Service number	504477[1]
Unit	Fighter Squadron 32
Battles/wars	Korean War Battle of Chosin Reservoir
Awards	Distinguished Flying Cross Purple Heart

Jesse LeRoy Brown (13 October 1926 – 4 December 1950) was the first African-American naval aviator in the United States Navy, a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross medal and the first naval officer killed in the Korean War.

Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to an impoverished family, Brown gained an avid interest in aircraft from a young age. Notwithstanding that he lived in an era of institutionalized racism, Brown was graduated as salutatorian of his high school, and later, he was awarded a degree from Ohio State University. Brown enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1946 and became a midshipman one year later. During this time, he married a woman, in violation of Navy regulations. Brown earned his pilot wings on 21 October 1948 amid a flurry of press coverage. He subsequently was assigned to Fighter Squadron 32 aboard the USS Leyte.

At the outset of the Korean War, the Leyte was ordered to the Korean Peninsula, arriving in October 1950. Brown, an ensign, flew 20 combat missions before his F4U Corsair aircraft came under fire and crashed on a remote mountaintop on 4 December 1950 during a mission supporting ground troops at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Brown died of his wounds in spite of efforts by wingman Thomas J. Hudner, Jr., who intentionally crashed his aircraft to attempt the rescue and later was awarded the Medal of Honor for that effort.

Brown's successes in the segregated and desegregated U.S. military were memorialized in several books, and the frigate USS Jesse L. Brown (FF-1089) was named in his honor.