USS Jesse L. Brown (DE/FF/FFT-1089) was a Knox-class frigate of the United States Navy. She was named for Jesse L. Brown, the first African-American naval aviator in the U.S. Navy. She was launched on 18 March 1972 and decommissioned on 27 July 1994.
Jesse LeRoy Brown (October 13, 1926 â December 4, 1950) was a United States Navy officer. He was the first African-American aviator to complete the U.S. Navy’s basic flight training program, was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the first African-American naval officer killed in the Korean War.
At the outset of the Korean War, Leyte was ordered to the Korean Peninsula, arriving in October 1950. During the Korean War, Brown’s squadron (VF-32, today’s VFA-32) operated from USS Leyte (CV-32), flying F4U-4 Corsair fighters in support of United Nations forces. 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 while supporting ground troops at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Brown died of his wounds.
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