Description: This auction is for an authentic autographed 8x10 picture signed by Tuskegee Airman legend, Alex Jefferson. Buyer will receive a lifetime guarantee certificate from The Autograph House of Tn.. It is guaranteed to pass any authentication service.. Toggle the table of contentsAlexander Jefferson3 languagesArticleTalkReadEditView historyToolsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaAlexander JeffersonBornNovember 15, 1921 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.DiedJune 22, 2022 (aged 100) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.AllegianceUnited States of AmericaService/branchUnited States Army Air Forces United States Air ForceYears of service1942–1969RankLieutenant ColonelUnit332nd Fighter Group and US Air Force ReserveBattles/warsWorld War IIAwardsCongressional Gold MedalDistinguished Flying CrossBronze Star MedalAir MedalPurple HeartAlexander Jefferson (November 15, 1921 – June 22, 2022) (POW) (WIA) 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[edit]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.[1]Jefferson attended Craft Elementary School, Munger Intermediate School, and Chadsey High School, graduating in 1938, the only African-American to take college preparatory classes.[1] In 1942, he graduated from Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Biology.[citation needed]World War II[edit]The Tuskegee Airmen's aircraft had distinctive markings that led to the name, "Red Tails."[N 1]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.[3]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.[3]During his 19th mission over Toulon, southern France on August 12, 1944, while attacking a radar 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 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.[3] He was then moved to Stalag VII-A, just outside Dachau. After the Russian Army entered Poland, the prisoners were marched to Munich by the Germans, where they were freed by General George Patton's US Third Army.[3] Jefferson returned to the United States on board the Cunard liner RMS Queen Mary, arriving in New York city in mid-1945:
Price: 55.21 USD
Location: Tullahoma, Tennessee
End Time: 2024-10-05T22:25:23.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
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Item Specifics
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Industry: Military
Signed: Yes
