by Dan Perkins

Exciting moments frequently occur at an OBAP conference, which is an annual event that brings together commercial airline pilots, aspiring commercial aviators, and aviation enthusiasts of all ages for nearly a week of organizational meetings, mentoring workshops, an opportunity fair, youth outreach activities and a spectacular awards banquet. OBAP (pronounced O-BAP) is the acronym for Organization of Black Airline Pilots, the nation's leading [professional organization committed to the development of African Americans in the field of commercial aviation.

OBAP’s annual conference is one of the premiere events in the Black aviation community; and this year, I had the great fortune to observe one of its many special moments.

Each year, OBAP officials invite educators and employers to participate in the conference’s exhibition fair.  The organization is committed to finding innovative ways to serve its broad and increasingly diverse constituency, and the fair allows aspiring commercial aviators to meet with prospective aviation employers and learn of opportunities to advance their education in aviation sciences.

In the center of the exhibition hall this year, over to one side, was a table shared by several organizations.  As I completed my initial sweep of the hall, my eyes darted back and forth between the various items on the table and the people who were seated behind it.  Between acknowledging nods, my eyes raced towards a stack of books located at one end of the table.  The front cover of the book displayed a red-tailed P-51 fighter aircraft flown by the all African American 332nd Fighter Group during World War II.  The men and women who jointed the Army Air Corps and trained at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama have since become known as the Tuskegee Airmen. 

Below the photo of the P-51 was a sepia-toned portrait of a young African American pilot, in dress uniform.  I immediately recognized the book because - much to my surprise - a college friend had sent it to me two days before my trip to Detroit in recognition of our 31 years of friendship.

The book, which is entitled Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: The Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman and POW, is Alexander Jefferson's personal account of being a distinguished pilot and a prisoner of war during World War II.

I had only thumbed through the book after the UPS delivery man dropped it off.  I had promised myself that I would read it on the flight to Detroit, but my carrying case was heavy, and I decided to leave it behind.

I was thrilled to see that unforeseen events had again brought me in contact with the book.  As my eyes moved beyond the two small stacks to an older gentleman, standing at the end of the table, smiling, and wearing a bright white baseball cap and white T-shirt with the words "Tuskegee Airmen" printed on them.  I knew instantly that I had found the author.

Alexander Jefferson is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, and a proud Tuskegee Airman.  Behind the glasses and thin white mustache is a gently matured version of the face that beams with confidence on the book's cover.

I eagerly extended my hand to greet this famed pilot, and we both acknowledged that it had been a while since we had last seen each other.  We had met several years before in Atlanta, when OBAP, Tuskegee Airman, Inc., and the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE) all held their annual conferences at the same time, in the same hotel.

This year, OBAP and the Tuskegee Airmen held separate conferences; and I couldn't help but think about how many of the famed Airmen, now in the twilight of their lives, would not attend this year's conference and participate in its outreach activities.  Fortunately, Alexander Jefferson has been blessed with relatively good health.  He is 83 years old, and still strong, blessed with a good mind and an affable personality.  His smile is still bright and his eyes continue to project the same spirited confidence, mixed with a hint of playfulness, that appears in the 1943 photo that graces the cover of his book.

Jefferson has lived an extraordinary life, which not only includes being a Tuskegee Airmen, but even more significantly, being held as a prisoner of war.  Jefferson’s airplane was shot down on August 12, 1944 while he was on a mission over German territory.  He spent nine months as "a guest of the Third Reich," as he states in his book.  While imprisoned, Jefferson, who was a second lieutenant at the time, began drawing scenes of prison life to help break the monotony.  His book is filled with black and white photos of his many illustrations.  The actual drawings are in color and kept in a vault.

Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free is an important and noteworthy book because of the story it tells.  Most Americans are unaware that African Americans were held as POWs during World War II.  Jefferson reports that he was one of 32 Tuskegee Airmen shot down by the Germans.

I must confess that I was unaware of this chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, and just as Jefferson began to talk of his experiences, a uniformed commercial pilot approached the table and picked up one of Jefferson’s books.  After he eyed the cover, he looked up at Jefferson and inquired, “You were a POW?”

“Stalag Luft III” declared Jefferson.

“I was held at the Hilton, nine months,” replied the commercial pilot who was referring to the infamous North Vietnam prison camp nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" by captured U.S. soldiers.

The two men introduced themselves and then proceeded to share accounts of their imprisonments.  The commercial pilot was Tony Marshall, a captain with United Airlines, and the chair of recruiting for OBAP.  He was imprisoned by the Viet Cong in 1972.  “I wasn’t flying the airplane,” asserted Marshall after stating that his F-4 wasn’t exactly shot down.  “We kind of dropped in on them.  The airplane just came apart on us.  I was in the back seat, so I won’t take complete blame for it,” he said.

Although there were not a large number of Black aviators during the Vietnam War, Marshall gained access to the cockpit after qualifying as an Air Force navigator and then an electronic warfare officer.  “I enjoyed the tour, but I couldn’t get a slot in the front seat, so I took the back seat, and decided to take the long way to the front,” he said.

After Marshall's plane went down over enemy territory, he decided that he would be in the front of the plane once he was freed.  After his release, he continued with Air Force and began training to pilot F-4 fighter jets, which were nicknamed "Rhinos."

Marshall and Jefferson showed great admiration for one another as the two former POWs posed for pictures.  Marshall, a 22-year veteran, held Jefferson’s book in his hand and said, “I going to have to read this.”

In an instant, a very small, but extraordinary event had occurred: two American heroes, from different eras, discovered a unique bond.  Both men are not only African American aviators, but former military pilots who had spent time overseas, imprisoned in enemy camps.  In addition, both men have devoted a great deal of time and energy educating African Americans and others about aviation.

The draw of an OBAP conference for non-aviators, like me, is that the conferences are filled with simple, but extraordinary moments.

Another special moment followed the Marshall-Jefferson meeting when the Scott family passed by the table and saw the book.  Glen Scott is an OBAP member who was walking his family through the exhibition hall to give them a deeper appreciation for aviation.  He and his wife, Roxana, have five children beginning with Samuel-12, Kendall-10, Aminta-7, Lauryn-6, and Janascia who is 16 months old and didn’t fully understand what all of the fuss was about.

Scott was thrilled to have his family meet a real Tuskegee Airman.  Jefferson welcomed the acknowledgement and stood with the family for several rounds of pictures.  Picture-taking is something Jefferson is accustomed to as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen’s speakers bureau.

Each year, the OBAP conference provides attendees with special opportunities to meet extraordinary men and women who have expanded, and continue to expand, the involvement of African Americans in aviation.

“Truly amazing” is how Glen Scott described his family's encounter with Alexander Jefferson.

THE END

 

In his book, Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: The Memoirs of A Tuskegee Airman and POW, Alexander Jefferson acknowledges the 31 other members of the 332nd Fighter Group who were shot down during World War II.  diversityinbusiness.com is pleased to also acknowledge their dedication and service.  Their examples of courage, skill, determination and perseverance, despite racial prejudice and bigotry at home, will inspire Americans for generations to come, especially African Americans.  God Bless. Name Prison Camp Where and When Shot Down Lt Edgar Bolden Stalag Luft I Linz, Austria Lt. Gene Brown Stalag Luft I Vinna, Austria - Jul. 18, 1944 Lt. Harold Brown Stalag VIIA Linz, Austria - Mar. 4, 1944 Lt. Alfred Carroll Stalag Luft I Linz, Austria - Jul. 25, 1944 Lt. Robert Daniels, Jr. Stalag Luft I, Stalag VIIA Toulon, France - Aug. 12, 1944 Lt Clarence Driver Stalag VIIA Danube River - Mar. 25, 1944 Lt. Thurston Gaines, Jr. Stalag VIIA Nuremberg, Germany - Apr. 15, 1945 Lt. Robert Gaither Stalag VIIA Budapest, Hungary - Nov. 22, 1944 Lt. Newman Golden Stalag VIIA Linz, Austria - Mar. 20, 1945 Lt. Alfred Gorham Stalag VIIA Munich, Germany - Feb. 1945 Lt. Cornelius Gould Stalag Luft I Hungary - Dec. 2, 1944 Lt. William Griffin Stalag Luft I Rome, Italy - Jan. 15, 1944 Lt. Lloyd C. Hathcock Stalag Luft III, Stalag VIIA Rome, Italy - Jun. 1944 Lt. Lincoln Hudson Stalag VIIA Tropau, Czechoslavakia - Mar. 23, '45 Lt. George Iles Stalag VIIA Munich, Germany - Feb. 25, 1944 Lt. Alexander Jefferson Stalag Luft III, Stalag VIIA Toulon, France - Aug. 12, 1944 Lt. Joe A. Lewis Stalag Luft III, Stalag VIIA Athens, Greece - Oct. 6, 1944 Lt. Wilbur Long Stalag Luft III, Stalag VIIA Brechhammer, Poland - Sep. 13, 1944 Lt. Richard Macon Stalag Luft III, Stalag VIIA Montpellier, France - Aug. 12, 1944 Lt. Walter McCreary Stalag Luft III , Stalag VIIA Kaspovar, Hungary - Oct. 22, 1944 Capt. Armour McDaniel Stalag VIIA Berlin, Germany - Mar. 31, 1945 Lt. Woodrow Morgan Stalag Luft III, Stalag VIIA Rome, Italy - May 26, 1944 Lt. Starling Penn Stalag Luft I Linz, Austria - Jul. 25, 1944 Capt. Lewis C. Smith Stalag Luft III, Stalag VIIA Florence, Italy - Jun. 6, 1944 Lt. Luther Smith Hospital and Stalag 17A Spittal, Austria - Oct. 13, 1944 Lt. Floyd Thompson Stalag Luft III, Stalag VIIA Forli, Italy - Jun. 29, 1944 Lt. Quitman Walker n/a Hungary - Nov. 22, 1944 Lt. Charles Williams Stalag Luft III, Stalag VIIA Yugoslavia - Jul. 30, 1944 Lt. Kenneth Williams Stalag Luft III, Stalag VIIA Athens, Greece - Oct. 4, 1944 Lt. Henry Wise Stalag Luft I Ploesti, Romania - Aug. 26, 1944 Lt. Carrol S. Woods Stalag Luft III, Stalag VIIA Athens, Greece - Oct. 6, 1944