US Navy commissioning new destroyer Thomas Hudner in Boston

Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. Navy's newest guided-missile destroyer is being named for a Navy pilot from Massachusetts who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Korean War.

The commissioning ceremony for the USS Thomas Hudner is scheduled for Saturday in Boston.

The Maine-built Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is being named in honor of Thomas Hudner, a Fall River native and longtime Concord resident who was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman for crash-landing his plane to try and save the life of Ensign Jesse Brown during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in December 1950.

Brown was shot down and trapped in his burning plane. Hudner intentionally crash-landed in freezing temperatures and tried unsuccessfully to pull Brown free.

Hudner died last November at age 93.