Devotion: A Special Event on March 18, 2023

Patriot’s Point has a busy spring ahead of them with events and to kickoff those events they started with a special event that included a showing of the movie “Devotion” based on the book by Adam Makos. “Devotion” stars Jonathan Majors (Loki, Lovecraft Country, Creed III) as Ensign Jesse Brown and Glen Powell (Hidden Figures, Top Gun: Maverick) as Lt. Tom Hudner Jr. The event itself hosted Medal of Honor recipients and their families, Tom Hudner III, Jamal Knight, and the public who purchased tickets for this event. The event included a showing of the movie “Devotion”, a question-and-answer segment, and a brief memorial service that included a wreath tossing out to sea in honor and remembrance of all who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

Executive Director Alison Hunt welcoming the guests

The introduction of the movie itself was started with a special message from author Adam Makos. Makos said he “chased this story for ten years.” He did so to not only tell the story of brotherhood that is formed in the military, but to also put the Korean War “back on the map.” According to Makos, the Korean War is “the forgotten war” and it is a war worth remembering just as much as the World Wars. Makos also let’s the audience know that this movie would not have been possible without the financing from the FedEx founder, Fred Smith. After the introduction, the movie played. I was personally moved by the films story and how the film provided the viewers with the opportunity to see the rawness of Brown’s story as a Black aviator.

John (CMOH society), Ryan Pitts (MOH recipient), Jamal Knight, and Tom Hudner III

The question-and-answer segment was nicely done and provided the audience an opportunity to ask Jamal and Tom questions about their grandfather and father. They both stated that the book and movie were pretty spot on, but that there a few scenes in the movie that were very Hollywood. Ryan Pitt, a Medal of Honor recipient, was also sitting in on the question-and-answer panel as well. He was able to provide some of his experience and ask questions to both Jamal and Tom as well. One of the last questions came from a gentleman in the audience. He asked, “What is the current progress on bringing Jesse’s remains home?” Tom Hudner Jr. had worked tirelessly to try and bring Jesse’s remains home because as of this moment, they are still in the same spot in which he crashed landed his Corsair in 1950. The mission to bring his remains home is not easy as they are in North Korea but the mission to do so continues.

Congresswoman Nancy Mace with Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter.

Ryan Pitts, Jamal Knight, and Tom Hudner III performing the wreath laying.

This event would not have been possible without the work of many teams aboard the USS Yorktown. The events team, marketing team, and the Congressional Medal of Honor society team all worked together to make this event go off without a hitch. The CMOH society was responsible for bringing Medal of Honor recipients and their families aboard. They had a special event prior to the movie specifically for those people so they could engage in conversation and meet one another. The events team and marketing team were responsible for everything else to ensure that the event went smooth. The teams did a phenomenal job and this is only the beginning to a string of events to come.