Spoilers for Devotion (2022)
The Korean War epic Devotion is based on the true story of the U.S. Navy’s first Black pilot, Jesse Brown, and his wingman Tom Hudner — here’s everything the movie gets right, and what it gets wrong. The film is based on the 2015 novel Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice by Adam Makos. The book retells the true story of the camaraderie between Jesse and Tom, and recounts both Naval officers’ experiences during the Korean War. The movie Devotion sticks relatively close to the true story, including Jesse’s tragic death and Tom’s efforts to save his friend.
Devotion has a breakout cast, starring Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country) as Jesse Brown and Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) as Tom Hudner. Christina Jackson, Thomas Sadoski, Daren Kagasoff, and Joe Jonas are in supporting roles. Set in the early 1950s, Devotion sees Tom transferred to the Fighter Squadron 32, where he meets Ensign Jesse Brown, the only African American in the unit. The two become fast friends, and the film follows the duo through Jesse’s trials with racism, war, and his tragic death at the hands of Chinese anti-aircraft gunner. Here are all the differences between the true story of Jesse Brown, and what the movie portrays.
True: Jesse Was The U.S. Navy’s First Black Pilot
A big portion of the 2022 movie Devotion is dedicated to Jesse’s journey as the Navy’s first Black pilot. Considered the “Jackie Robinson of the skies,” Brown was the subject of racism and bigotry throughout his run in the Navy. He was the nation’s first person of color to make it through the Naval flight training program, and his final exam saw him perform five perfect landings on an aircraft carrier. At just 22 years old, he became a designated Naval Aviator. He was the first Black American to receive the “golden wings” of a Naval Aviator badge, and also the first to fly in combat.
True: Devotion’s Jesse Really Did THAT In The Mirror
A surprising scene in Devotion sees Creed 3 star Jonathan Majors’ Jesse Brown shouting racial epithets at himself in the mirror after struggling to deal with racist neighbors. In addition, Brown continues this self-abuse to motivate himself before missions. Reportedly, this is true. Brown endured racism in both his professional (especially during basic training) and private life, and resorted to insulting himself to be able to better withstand these attacks. In Makos’ book, Jesse started this when he was young while standing in front of his family’s only mirror. The book doesn’t mention if he still repeated this behavior during his time in the Navy, but it’s highly likely.
False: Tom Didn’t Throw The First Punch In Devotion’s True Story
Navy pilot Tom Hudner came to Jesse’s defense multiple times in Devotion, and in real life. However, one particular scene in the film didn’t happen. While on shore leave in Nice, France, Hudner gets in a drunken brawl with a Marine who had previously harassed Jesse. Jesse tells him not to fight his battles for him, just be there for him. While Tom defended Jesse in the face of racism, the fight didn’t happen. An incident that may have inspired the scene happened at a hotel when a waiter refused to take Brown’s drink order. After this, Tom reportedly stood up and told the rest of the group, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
True: Tom And Jesse Met Elizabeth Taylor In France
Another scene in Devotion sees Jesse meeting the iconic Cleopatra star Elizabeth Taylor (played by Redemption Day‘s Serinda Swan) on a beach in Nice, France. In the footage, Jesse secures invitations for the rest of the squadron to go to a casino. In real life, Jesse and Tom did, in fact, meet Taylor, who was in Cannes for the eponymous Film Festival. Brown reportedly met her while she was dining at the Carlton Hotel. Hudner also met her four days later while she was visiting the Leyte. It’s unknown whether Taylor personally invited them to the casino.
False: Jesse Didn’t Disobey Tom’s Orders
During one of the flying missions in Devotion, Jesse disobeys Tom’s orders to retreat and then blows up a bridge by himself. After the mission ended and both men are safely on land, Tom praises Jesse in the report, but Jesse tells him that it will likely just be used by their racist superiors to deny him promotions in the Navy. Both of these moments are fictional, as there’s no record mentioning that Jesse Brown blew up a bridge and disobeyed a direct order, or that Tom Hudner filed a report about it. (via History vs Hollywood)
While these scenes are not 100% authentic to Devotion‘s true story inspiration, they do help in establishing the most crucial aspects of why the real Jesse Brown is important to Navy history. Though they’re factually false, they shine a brighter light on the racism Jesse faced, and how he dealt with it through sheer heroism and tenacity. Moreover, Jesse disobeying an order to complete a mission, and Tom filing an accurate report even if it got Jesse in trouble, are both consistent with their respective characters. This was what made the scenes seem authentic even if they were entirely fictional.
True: Devotion’s Tom Risked His Life To Save Jesse
In Devotion‘s ending, Jesse Brown’s plane is shot down by a Chinese anti-aircraft gunner, and he’s forced to crash-land in the mountains of North Korea. Hudner sees that Brown is alive, but trapped in his cockpit. Hudner purposely crashes his own plane in the same clearing to save his friend. Though he’s able to put out the fire, he’s not able to save Jesse from the wreckage, and Brown sadly passes. The way that Devotion recounts Jesse’s death, and Top Gun 2 star Glen Powell’s Hudner attempting to save him, is completely accurate.
In real-life, it’s believed that a gunner hiding in the snow took Brown’s plane down, and he crash-landed in a valley. He attempted to free himself, but was unsuccessful. Tom Hudner really did crash-land his plane just 100 meters from Brown’s and used snow to put out the engine fire. He tried desperately for 45 minutes to free Jesse from the crash, but to no avail. Rather than being court-martialed for downing his own plane, Hudner received the first Navy medal of honor for the Korean War.
True: The Navy Sent A “Funeral Flight” For Jesse Brown
In Devotion, Hudner’s superiors as the USS Leyte denies his request to send a team to the site of him and Brown’s crash to retrieve his friend’s body. The commander on the Leyte, Capt. Thomas Sisson (Dean Denton), determines that it’s too risky to retrieve Jesse’s body from the Chinese-controlled area. Instead, Jesse Brown is given a warrior’s funeral, in which a V-32 destroys the downed Corsairs with his body still inside.
With some changes, this was in line with what really happened in Devotion‘s true story inspiration. In real life, the Navy sent seven fighter planes for Jesse Brown’s “funeral flight.” The seven planes flew in a circle around the site, and then dropped napalm to engulf Brown’s body and the planes in flames. As they did this, they recited the Lord’s Prayer over the radio, and then rocked their wings before leaving as a final salute to their fallen brother-in-arms.
False: Daisy And Tom Didn’t Know Each Other
In the Devotion movie, Hudner and Brown frequently carpool, prompting Brown to introduce Hudner to his family, including his wife Daisy (Christina Jackson). Before being deployed to the Mediterranean, Daisy implores Hudner to be there for her husband, and he agrees. In Devotion‘s ending, Tom encounters Daisy at Jesse’s funeral and apologizes to her for not being able to save him. Daisy rebuffs him, and says that she only asked him to be there for Jesse, not to save him. Tom then tells her Jesse’s last words, which were about how much he loved his wife. It’s a heart-wrenching scene in Devotion, unfortunately, it isn’t factual.
Tom didn’t actually meet Daisy until his medal of honor ceremony, and the two didn’t carpool at all. Rather, fellow pilot Carol Mohring (Nick Hargrove) was the one that carpooled and frequented the Brown household. Daisy was in attendance at Tom’s medal of honor ceremony, where she met Hudner. The only time Tom had seen her previously was from a distance when she and Jesse were saying goodbye before he boarded the Leyte. This is probably the biggest departure that Devotion makes from the true story of Jesse Brown, which otherwise sticks pretty closely to his real-life experiences as the U.S. Navy’s first Black pilot.
