DETROIT – City officials re-dedicated a statue to a member of the Tuskegee Airmen on Friday, nearly one year after his original statue was stolen.
The statue was in honor of the late Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson, a Detroit native, who flew missions during the Second World War as a member of the legendary group of Black airmen.
During a mission over France in 1944, his plane was shot down, and he was captured and held prisoner by the Nazis until he was freed nearly a year later.
Infamously, after being held prisoner with his fellow soldiers and officers regardless of their race, he was immediately segregated when he returned to the United States.
“I took all the things they went through,” Master Sgt. Bill Welborne, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen Detroit Chapter, said. “They went through some hard times; I was there, so I know.”
Welborne, 92, served as a mechanic in the Air Force from 1948 to 1980, encompassing the Korean and Vietnam wars.
“We died over there,” Welborne said. “We had 68 people from the Tuskegee Airmen die. So, yeah, give us the same credit.”
This is the second time a statue has been dedicated at Rouge Park to Lt. Col. Jefferson, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 100.
The first was dedicated on June 24, 2024, only to be stolen four months later on Oct. 23. Detroit Police were able to track it down and recover it the next day.
Nearly a year after the theft, the statue stood, fittingly, in Jefferson Plaza, near the corner of Joy Road and Spinoza Drive.
“He would have delighted in today,” Dr. Linda McClain, Jefferson’s niece, said. “He was a true teacher.”
Men like Lt. Col. Jefferson inspired generations of African Americans. Unfortunately, the Tuskegee Airmen, a fraternity that includes former Detroit Mayor Coleman Young, have largely passed away.
Lt. Col. George Hardy, the youngest of the original Tuskegee fighter pilots, passed away less than 10 days ago on Sept. 24 in Sarasota, Fla.
McClain says men like her uncle can continue to help inspire the next generation.
“He was about young folks knowing their history, and once they know their history, they know their identity,” McClain said. “He’s even going to be greater now because more people, more children, and more students will know about his history.”
Tuskegee Airmen hailed not only from the United States but also from Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica.