Fitchburg ceremony for Korean War hero honored with ship

Friday

Nov 9, 2012 at 6:00 AM

By Paula J. Owen TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

When retired U.S. Navy Capt. Thomas J. Hudner Jr.’s wingman went down inside enemy lines during the Korean War, he made the decision to crash-land his F4U Corsair in two feet of snow next to the wingman’s plane and await the rescue helicopter with his comrade.

“I’m guessing we were 10 miles inside enemy lines,” he said. “It is hard to say because there were no landmarks. There were six of us in a flight section and he was losing power and he had to crash.”

When Capt. Hudner received assurance the rescue helicopter was coming, he said he decided to crash-land next to him.

“It didn’t seem like he was injured,” Capt. Hudner said. “He waved to us from inside the cockpit, but he didn’t get out even though it was smoking.”

It was about 10 degrees outside and Marines were fighting about 20 miles from them, he said.

His wingman, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, was the first African-American naval aviator in the U.S. Navy. Ensign Brown, the first naval officer killed in the Korean War, died of injuries he suffered in the crash before rescue help arrived.

Capt. Hudner, 88, from Concord, who received the Medal of Honor for his efforts to save the life of Ensign Brown during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, is the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient to have a vessel named after him. An Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer (DDG) will be named the USS Thomas Hudner.

During a ceremony at Steel-Fab on Crawford Street yesterday morning, attended by the company’s employees and state and local officials, Capt. Hudner signed a 13-ton high-strength steel, low-speed reduction gear manufactured at Steel-Fab that will be used in the ship.

Steel-Fab welder Bryant K. Houle later traced over the signature with his welding equipment, making it a permanent part of the gear.

“I think this exercise is appropriate with Veterans Day right upon us,” Capt. Hudner said. “I think it is great so many people now celebrate Veterans Day. It didn’t used to be that way.”

Scott D. Houle, plant manager at Steel-Fab, said it was an honor to have Capt. Hudner at the shop.

“To make the decision to crash-land his own plane to save his wingman, he has a lot of integrity,” Mr. Houle said. “He is a remarkable man.”

The reduction gear that is nearly four feet in diameter, will be shipped to Philadelphia Gear’s plant in Los Angeles for installation into a reduction box once teeth are cut into it, Philadelphia Gear President Carl. D. Rapp said. That process will reduce its weight by about two tons, he said.

Mr. Rapp said it is the largest and first component manufactured for the ship from Massachusetts. After installation into the gearbox, it will be delivered to the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, for installation in the ship. The ship DDG 116 will be commissioned in Boston in 2016, he said.

Bryant Houle said that during manufacturing the gear had to remain at a constant temperature of 350 degrees so it wouldn’t crack. A 1,200-degree oven was used to heat the metal, he said.

Employees worked on it 24 hours day for about a month, he said.

“We used insulated blankets, but the guys would get upset with me when I had to close the doors even when it was 90 degrees outside,” he said. “We couldn’t afford to have any cracks in it.”

Peter D. Yarger, marine program manager for Philadelphia Gear, came up with the idea to have Capt. Hudner sign the gear.

“After we heard the ship was named after him and he was a local guy, it made a lot of sense to do this,” Mr. Yarger said.