Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson of the 332nd Fighter Group, shown here in 2012 in London. (US Embassy London)
(Tribune News Service) — The U.S. Post Office on Main Street in Mount Clemens, Mich., will be named after a Tuskegee Airman who was shot down by enemy forces during World War II, according to a pair of federal lawmakers from Michigan.
Democratic Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow on Wednesday announced they have introduced bills to name U.S. Postal Service facilities after Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson and Poet Laureate Robert Hayden.
In a news release, they said the honorees were “essential parts of Michigan and our nation’s history.”
“Naming these post offices after two distinguished Michiganders will help honor their long-lasting legacies and contributions to our Michigan communities,” Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in the release.
One of the bills would designate the post office in Mount Clemens, Mich., as the “ Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Jefferson Post Office.”
Born in 1921 in Detroit, Jefferson completed combat training at what was then known as Selfridge Field in Mount Clemens and pilot training at the Tuskegee Army Airfield. He served a long military career during World War II.
He was shot down in France and captured by Nazi ground troops. He was a prisoner of war in German-occupied Poland before he was freed by Gen. George Patton’s U.S. Third Army.
Jefferson went on to write the book “Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free,” which detailed his experiences as one of the Tuskegee Airmen shot down defending a country that considered them to be second-class citizens.
He returned to Michigan, where he became a letter carrier, earned a teaching certificate, and obtained a master’s degree in education from Wayne State University. He was discharged from active duty in 1947 and retired from the reserves in 1969.
After 31 years of service with Detroit Public Schools, Jefferson retired in 1979.
In 2016, Peters helped present the France’s Knight of the Legion of Honor Medal to Jefferson. The award is the highest honor France bestows on people who have carried out actions of great value to their nation.
That same year, Stabenow awarded Jefferson the Bronze Star Medal for his heroic service and meritorious achievements as a Tuskegee Airman and POW at the 61st Annual Detroit NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner.
Jefferson died June 22, 2022, at the age of 100.
“Serving as a Tuskegee Airman in World War II and later as a Detroit-area educator, Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson was a role model and mentor who inspired others to serve and pursue their dreams,” Stabenow said.
Peters added: “Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson was an American hero who served as one of the nation’s first African American military pilots, opening the door for individuals to serve no matter the color of their skin, and who continued his public service as a letter carrier and educator after his military service.”
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