Stabenow Presents Bronze Star to WWII Hero Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson at Detroit NAACP Dinner

Sunday, May 01, 2016

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow awarded the Bronze Star Medal to Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson for his heroic service and meritorious achievements as a Tuskegee Airman and POW during World War II. The ceremony took place at the 61st Annual Detroit NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner.

“Alexander Jefferson’s story is so inspiring and needs to be told,” said Stabenow. “As one of the largest gatherings of its kind in the world, presenting this prestigious medal at the Freedom Fund Dinner is a fitting tribute to his incredible life.”

Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson is one of the few remaining Tuskegee Airmen fighter pilots still alive today. He was sworn into the US Army Reserves during WWII where he volunteered to be a flying cadet. On August 12, 1944, Lt. Col. Jefferson began his 19th mission in Europe where he was shot down and taken prisoner by the Nazis. He was a POW for the remainder of the war. On April 29, 1945, his prison camp was liberated but not before he witnessed the atrocities at the Dachau concentration camp.

For more information about Lt Col. Jefferson, view a new documentary trailer about his life at https://vimeo.com/dynastymedianetwork/review/116992362/827a3998c5.

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