Tom Hudner died today
In 1969, then-Captain Hudner was ordered by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, to go to bases where race riots had occurred, take testimony and institute reforms to "establish justice." He was able to do this because he was the only white officer in the Navy with the moral authority to deal with the situation, due to his Medal of Honor. His reforms, announced in 1970, changed the way the Navy treated non-white personnel. These reforms were later adopted by all the armed services, with the result that, today, the American military is the one place where "equality of treatment" and "equal opportunity" aren't just words - they're the way things are.
America's a better country for the fact Tom Hudner didn't die on that snowy Korean hillside on 4 December 1950.
The story is chapter one of my book, "the Frozen Chosen."
God Bless - RIP
Tom, I didn't know he'd also done this. Fair winds and following seas!
Hand Salute, sir...
I believe Hubner took part in a exchange program with the Air Force and for a period of time was flying with the 58th FS out of Otis in the mid-50s flying F-89s. My father was in that squadron and flew with Hubner. Who tried to get him to join a pilot exchange program with the Navy. Dad said he didn't care to crash airplanes on ships...
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/27/us/brown-hudner-devotion-korean-war/index.html
Great CNN bio
He was a true American Hero in all the ways that name entails.