Local officials and Navy personnel gathered Friday at Naval Air Station Meridian to dedicate the station’s hangar in honor of the first African-American naval aviator, Ensign Jesse L. Brown.

Brown, who was born in Hattiesburg in 1926, graduated from Eureka High School and joined the Naval Reserves at Ohio State University when he was 19 years old.

On Dec. 4, 1950, while serving in the Korean War on board the fleet carrier Leyte, Brown was shot down over North Korea and died of his injuries.

In a ceremony Friday, Brown’s daughter, Pamela Brown Knight, who was less than a year old when her father died, said her father overcame a lot of obstacles, showing courage and determination throughout his life.

The son of a sharecropper in Jim Crow Mississippi, Knight said her father had to overcome both racism and the rigorous naval aviator training to earn his wings of gold.

“My family and I are so proud to carry on the legacy of Jesse Brown, and with the help of folks like you, we are able to continue this and continue to inspire generations for years to come,” she said.

Ret. Capt. Donnie Cochran, a veteran naval aviator and instructor, who served as guest speaker for Friday’s ceremony, said Brown was both a source of inspiration and a trailblazer for all Navy pilots.

“Ensign Brown’s story is a true American story,” he said. “And more importantly for the United States Navy, it is one of those proud moments in naval history.”

In addition to dedicating the hangar, NAS Meridian also worked with local artists to create a mural showing Brown’s story inside the building.

NAS Meridian Commanding Officer Capt. Timothy B. Moore said the hanger and the mural will ensure future generations of naval aviators know Brown’s story and recognize his service to his country.

“There are many layers of significance for this event within the history of our nation, our Navy/Marine Corps team, our culture of naval aviation, the great state of Mississippi and most importantly within the Brown family,” he said. “Ensign Brown’s service and sacrifice for our nation embodies the highest ideal, that greater love hath no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”