All told, Smith figures there were 5,000 Tuskegee Airmen who served in Europe. There were about 450 pilots and 10 to 12 support personnel for each one, he says.
As an officer, Jefferson says, he was treated decently by the white POWs despite the prevailing racist attitudes.
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Detroiter Alma Harper echoes Sheffields remarks. I loved every moment of it, she says. Im very proud of those brave men. This story should have been spread around years ago.
radar and world war 2 Air legend, local audience embraces 'Tails',Lt. Col. Alex Jefferson, a Tuskegee Airman who flew combat missions in World War II, couldnt be happier.
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When youre in war fighting for your life, he says, the only color that matters is red. Sheffield says he thoroughly enjoyed the film, and the airmens moment in the sun. Im very proud and pleased theyre getting this recognition.
With Red Tails, Hollywood has finally made a glossy, big-budget film about the Tuskegee Airmen, the nations first African-American fighter pilots. And as r as the Detroit resident is concerned, the movie got most things just right.
When the parachute popped, Im hanging in the trees. So I spent nine months in Germany as a POW, says the graduate of Detroits Chadsey High School and Atlantas Clark University.
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Others arent so reticent. Retired Capt. Turner Thompson of Detroit, who served in the U.S. Air Force from 1985-2008, says he came to appreciate the Airmens significance while in the military.
It used to be said that the Tuskegee Airmen never lost a bomber to the enemy, says Brian Smith, president of the Tuskegee Airmen National Museum at Detroits Fort Wayne. But research shows we lost about 25 bombers in 205 missions. All the same, nobody else can brag about that kind of success rate.
The film was produced by George Lucas who put up $58 million of his own money to make it. It follows a pivotal time in the lives a few of 332nd Fighter Group pilots, known as Red Tails. The 332nd not only battled Germans but they also fought against the U.S. Militarys dogged belief that African Americans were neither bright enough nor capable enough to engage in aerial combat.
While hes excited about the film, Jefferson, who authored the book Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free (Fordham University Press, 2005), shrugs off questions about his importance in one of the key events that helped push America down the road toward greater equality.
Unlike the Red Tail character Junior (played by Tristan Wilds), Jefferson had no chance at escape from the POW camp. Instead, Gen. George Pattons 3rd Army liberated him and the rest of Stalag 7-A from their camp near Munich.
Lt. Col. Alex Jefferson, a Tuskegee Airman who flew combat missions in World War II, attended and loved a pre-screening of Red Tails at the Emagine Novi theater Tuesday, as did many theatergoers.
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The Red Tails — the nickname comes from the paint job on their planes — finally got their chance at the big time in 1944, escorting heavy bombers over German territory. With their new orders, the Tuskegee Airmen not only lodged the wars most-successful track record in protecting long-range bombers from enemy attack, a feat even Pentagon brass couldnt overlook, but they also demolished notions of inferiority.
Jefferson saw the film Tuesday night at a pre-screening at the Emagine Novi theater where he also spoke. The event was well-attended by lucky theatergoers as well as local members of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., a private organization dedicated to preserving the memory of their feats. Like much of the country, in World War II, the U.S. military was segregated with white and black servicemen on separate bases, and the latter mostly relegated to menial tasks r from the front lines. In particular, African-American pilots for much of the war were prevented from engaging the enemy in the air — instead doing mop-up operations r from the front, taking out Nazi trains and trucks.
He attributes that to the wings and bars decorating his uniform and to the Red Tails reputation.
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Lt. Col. Alex Jefferson of Detroit was a member of the med Tuskegee Airmen, who flew combat missions in World War II. He says the film Red Tails succeeds in capturing the young African-American pilots spirit. The group escorted heavy bombers over German territory. (David Coates / The Detroit News)
I thank God for the Tuskegee Airmen, Thompson says. As an African-American officer, I owe them everything.
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The movie is ntastic. The film really captured the spirit of young men in combat, the 90-year old former pilot and schoolteacher told The Detroit News.
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They said we were dumb, we were stupid, Jefferson says. There were black pilots flying into airports every day all over the country, but the army had this racist attitude. Still, by movies end, the Tuskegee Airmen win grudging admiration from white servicemen for their accomplishments, which doesnt surprise longtime Detroit labor and civil rights leader the Rev. Horace L. Sheffield Jr., who attended Tuesdays screening.
For his part, Jefferson flew 18 long-range missions escorting heavy bombers over enemy territory. On Aug. 12, 1944, his team seized an opportunity to also strafe German radar installations. That was when Jeffersons airplane was shot down and he bailed out behind enemy lines.
