Alexander Jefferson | |
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| Born | (1921-11-15)November 15, 1921 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | June 22, 2022(2022-06-22) (aged 100) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force |
| Service years | 1942–1969 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit | 332nd Fighter Group and US Air Force Reserve |
| Conflicts | World War II |
| Awards | |
Alexander Jefferson (November 15, 1921 – June 22, 2022) (POW) (WIA) was an AmericanAir Force officer, famous as one of theTuskegee Airmen, the332nd Fighter Group. He served in theUnited States Army Air Forces duringWorld War II.
His book,Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman and POW, is a personal memoir of those who served America in World War II and after.
Jefferson was born in Detroit, Michigan on November 15, 1921, the eldest child of Alexander Jefferson and Jane White Jefferson. His maternal great-grandfatherWilliam Jefferson White was born to a slave woman and a white slave owner in the 1830s. Jefferson's grandfather became a minister, and in 1867, opened an all black ministry school for boys in Augusta, Georgia, which today is known asMorehouse College.[1]
Jefferson attended Craft Elementary School, Munger Intermediate School, andChadsey High School, graduating in 1938, the only African-American to take college preparatory classes.[1] In 1942, he graduated fromClark College inAtlanta,Georgia, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Biology.[citation needed]
On September 23, 1942, he was sworn into theUnited States Army Reserve, volunteering but not accepted for flight training. Taking a job as ananalytical chemist for three months, he entered the graduate school ofHoward University, applying again to theUS Army Air Force.[3]
Called up for flight training in April 1943, Jefferson received orders to report toTuskegee Army Air Field to begin flight training. Receiving his pilots wings and officer's commission at Tuskegee, he was assigned to the 332nd "Red Tail" Fighter group at theRamitelli Airfield nearFoggia,Italy, flying theP-51 Mustang. Assigned to a fighter escort wing protecting bombing missions of theUS 15th Air Force, his job was to attack key ground targets and guard the bombing mission against enemyNaziLuftwaffe fighters.[3]
During his 19th mission overToulon,southern France on August 12, 1944, while attacking aradar installation he was shot down.[4] Parachuting to safety and landing within a forest, he was immediately captured by Nazi ground troops. He was sent toprisoner of war campStalag Luft III in Poland, a specialist Luftwaffe-run camp for captured Allied Air Force personnel. During his period of internment, Jefferson comments that he was treated like any other Air Force officer by his German captors.[3] He was then moved toStalag VII-A, just outsideDachau. After theRussian Army entered Poland, the prisoners were marched toMunich by the Germans, where they were freed byGeneralGeorge Patton'sUS Third Army.[3] Jefferson returned to the United States on board theCunard linerRMS Queen Mary, arriving inNew York City in mid-1945:
Having been treated by the Nazis like every other Allied officer, I walked down the gang plank wearing an Army Air Corps Officer's uniform towards a white US Army sergeant on the dock, who informed us "Whites to the right, niggers to the left."[5][6][7]
Jefferson served as an instrument instructor at Tuskegee Army airfield, until it closed in 1946.[3] He remained in theUS Air Force reserve, finally retiring in 1969. In 1947 Jefferson received his teaching certificate fromWayne State University, and began teachingelementary school science for the Detroit Public School System.[1] He received his M.A. degree in education in 1954, and was appointed assistant principal in 1969. He retired in 1979 as an assistant principal, after over 30 years service.[4] Hecelebrated his 100th birthday in 2021.[8]
Jefferson died in his home city, Detroit, Michigan on June 22, 2022, at the age of 100.[9]
In 1995, Jefferson was enshrined in the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame.[1] In 2004, PresidentGeorge W. Bush awarded Jefferson aPurple Heart for being wounded while being shot down over German-occupied France. On March 29, 2007, Jefferson attended a ceremony in theU.S. Capitol rotunda, where he and all the other members of the Tuskegee Airmen (and their widows) were collectively awarded theCongressional Gold Medal in recognition of their service.[10]
Detroit, Michigan honored Jefferson for his service during WWII, with a metaphorical "key to the city" In 2021.[11]
Jefferson's decorations and awards[12] include:
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Additional awards include theCongressional Gold Medal, pictured.[13]
A documentary,The Luft Gangster: Memoirs of A Second Class Hero (2016), was made about the life and legacy of Jefferson.[14]
Media related toAlexander Jefferson at Wikimedia Commons
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