Alexander Jefferson

Alexander Jefferson (November 15, 1921 – June 22, 2022) was an American Air Force officer, famous as one of the Tuskegee Airmen, the 332nd Fighter Group. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World 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.

Early life Jefferson was born in Detroit, Michigan, on November 15, 1921, the eldest child of Alexander Jefferson and Jane White Jefferson. His maternal great-grandfather William 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 as Morehouse College.

Jefferson attended Craft Elementary School, Munger Intermediate School, and Chadsey High School, graduating in 1938, the only African-American to take college preparatory classes. |group=N

On September 23, 1942, he was sworn into the United States Army Reserve, volunteering but not accepted for flight training. Taking a job as an analytical chemist for three months, he entered the graduate school of Howard University, applying again to the US Army Air Force.

Called up for flight training in April 1943, Jefferson received orders to report to Tuskegee 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 the Ramitelli Airfield near Foggia, Italy, flying the P-51 Mustang. Assigned to a fighter escort wing protecting bombing missions of the US 15th Air Force, his job was to attack key ground targets and guard the bombing mission against enemy Nazi Luftwaffe fighters. Parachuting to safety and landing within a forest, he was immediately captured by Nazi ground troops. He was sent to prisoner of war camp Stalag 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.

Postwar career Jefferson served as an instrument instructor at Tuskegee Army airfield, until it closed in 1946.

Personal life Jefferson died in his home city, Detroit, Michigan on June 22, 2022, at the age of 100.

Legacy Honors In 1995, Jefferson was enshrined in the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame.

Detroit, Michigan honored Jefferson for his service during WWII, with a metaphorical "key to the city" In 2021.

Military awards Jefferson's decorations and awards include:

Additional awards include the Congressional Gold Medal, pictured.

Documentary A documentary, The Luft Gangster: Memoirs of A Second Class Hero (2016), was made about the life and legacy of Jefferson.