Thursday, Nov. 8, the Mississippi State College of Arts and Sciences in conjunction with the ROTC and the Starkville Chamber of Commerce, honored the memory of Ensign Jesse Brown, an aviator whose plane was shot down in the Korean War. Part of a three-year celebration marking the 50-year anniversary of the Korean conflict, the ceremony served a dual purpose to honor Brown’s achievement in becoming the first black to earn the gold wings of a U.S. Navy pilot and to recognize the bravery of the man who tried to rescue him, retired Navy Capt. Thomas J. Hubner Jr.
“The College of Arts and Sciences is very proud to be honoring our Korean veterans, particularly at this time in which our service personnel are playing such an active and crucial part in all of our lives,” said Phil Oldham, the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Starkville School District granted those Korean veterans who were unable to complete their high school requirements diplomas after the ceremony.
“I think that it is great for MSU to honor those who are willing to risk their own lives in order to save others,” said Bill Howell, a senior majoring in international business.
According to Lt. Col. Logan Hickman, who chairs the chamber’s military affairs committee and who is also an instructor within the ROTC program, Brown and Hubner first came to the committee’s attention in an article found within a military journal entitled “A Hero Helps a Hero.”
The article, which highlights the unique bravery of Brown and the heroic rescue attempt of Hubner, sparked an investigative search for Hubner that ultimately resulted in the selection of Brown and Hubner as the first honoree’s of this year’s program.
“We feel that young people’s interest is directly related to how we honor those in the military services,” Hickman said. “By honoring those who have already served, we show them not only the value and respect that we all place on military service, but that we are willing to recognize individual acts of valor.”
Thursday’s ceremony was part of an exclusive international program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense to commemorate the long-forgotten soldiers. In order to participate in this program, Hickman said the Starkville Chamber of Commerce and the university had to apply to attain partner status in the national program. This year’s theme is “Mississippi Military Firsts,” and the event kicked off this year’s salute to the military program.