Celebrating Black History Month: Jesse L. Brown, first African American to complete US Navy flight training

Jesse LeRoy Brown, born October 13, 1926 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, graduated as salutatorian of his high school.  Despite racism, he graduated from Ohio State University.  In 1946, he enlisted in the US Navy, first becoming a midshipman, and then earned his pilot wings on October 21, 1948.  He was the first African American to complete the US Navy's basic flight training program.

He was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Leyte in January 1949.  The Leyte was ordered to the Korean Peninsula in October 1950.  On December 4, 1950, Brown's Corsair was shot down and he crash landed on a remote mountaintop. He survived the crash and his wingman Thomas Hudner intentionally crashed his plane to rescue Brown.  

Unfortunately, Brown was trapped inside the cockpit, and despite the attempts by Hudner to rescue him failed. He passed away, He was the first African American US Navy officer killed in the Korean War.

For his actions, Brown was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, and the Air Medal.

Celebrating Black History Month: Frank Petersen, first African-American Marine Corps general

Frank Petersen, born March 2, 1932 in Topeka, Kansas, was the first African-American Marine Corps aviator and the first African-American Marine Corps general.

He enlisted in the US Navy in June 1950 and served as an electronics technician, but he vowed to a combat pilot.  He entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1951 and completed flight training in October 1952.  He accepted a commission as second lieutenant in the Marine Corps.  He served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War.  

In February 1979, he was promoted to brigadier general, the first African-American to achieve the rank in the US Marine Corps.  In May 1983, he was promoted to major general and in June 1986, to lieutenant general.  He was Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, VA in July 1988 when he retired.  

He passed away in August 2015 from lung cancer.