Retired Capt. Thomas J. Hudner Jr., one of 91 living MOH recipients nationwide, gave a motivational speech to the entire battalion.

On Dec. 4, 1950, while serving with Fighter Squadron 32 aboard the carrier USS Leyte (CV 32), Hudner crash landed his F4-U4 Corsair plane near the icy Chosin reservoir to rescue Ensign Jesse LeRoy Brown. The Navy's first African-American aviator had just been shot down on a 5,300-foot mountain.

Brown’s right leg was crushed by the damaged instrument panel, and he was pinned in the wreckage. With smoke and flames billowing from the engine, Hudner packed snow into the wreckage and kept talking to Brown as he was drifting in and out of consciousness. When a U.S. helicopter arrived, the pilot worked with Hudner for 45 minutes trying to get Brown out. They hacked at the plane with an ax, and even considered amputating Brown’s trapped leg with a knife.

Then Brown whispered to Hudner, “If I don't make it, please tell my wife Daisy I love her.“

Hudner promised his friend that he would.

As nightfall approached, and temperatures fell to 30 below it was clear that Brown was dead. Hudner hated to leave the body behind, but the helicopter pilot couldn’t fly in the mountainous terrain after dark. Reluctantly, the two men returned to base camp.

“We had no choice but to leave him,” said Hudner. ‘‘I was devastated emotionally.“

The next morning, reconnaissance showed that Brown’s body, still in the cockpit, had been stripped of clothing during the night by enemy soldiers. Because of the hostile forces in the area, it was impossible to retrieve it. The following day, the commander of the USS Leyte ordered four Corsairs to napalm the downed plane so that Brown could have a final warrior’s funeral.

Four months later on April 13, 1951, President Truman invited the Hudner family to the White House where the young officer received the Medal of Honor. Brown was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his exceptional courage, airmanship, and devotion to duty in the face of great danger.

Attending the simple ceremony and standing quietly to the side with a large bouquet of roses was a young black woman. She smiled through her tears and shook hands with Hudner. He delivered the promised message.

The two aviators, one white, the other black, came from vastly different backgrounds and experiences, but both shared a common mission: supporting American Marines and Soldiers at the reservoir. They had become friends aboard Leyte.

Hudner stressed to the NAPS students about brotherhood and respect, never to think about one's religious, racial, gender or ethnic background, and that everyone is equal. In those days of widespread racial discrimination, he never thought about Brown's skin color, and Hudner spoke only about the importance of his job and combat mission.

‘‘I think it was an honor to have such a man speak,” said Midshipman Candidate Wesson Kennedy. ‘‘He made an impact on many of us to show us heroism and brotherhood. It goes to show us the type of officers we should strive to be like in four years when we graduate the Naval Academy.”

Midshipman Candidate David Williams said it was truly an honor to be visited by a great Navy hero such as Captain Hudner.

‘‘You never think that you would see a Medal of Honor awardee in person and when you do it just blows you away. To think of the sacrifice he went through to try and save a shipmate is just amazing.”