[Annotator's Note: This clip begins with the interviewer attempting to level out the audio.] Alexander Jefferson was born in November 1921 in Detroit, Michigan. Jefferson's dad worked for Detroit Lubricators in the factory. During the Depression they ate steak almost every other day. People say they were hungry, but Jefferson was never hungry. They were the only black family in a Polish neighborhood. Jefferson has no idea how his family afforded the house. His elementary formative years were interesting. He went to Newbury Elementary School. After school some days, Jefferson would walk to a small airfield where he had his first encounter with airplanes. He read magazines about World War 1 and the "Flying Circus" [Annotator's Note: Jagdgeschwader I or Fighter Group 1 of the German Air Force; this group was commanded by Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, known as the Red Baron]. He was inspired by the magazines and made model airplanes. By the time he finished college, the Army Air Corps accepted blacks, in 1941. Jefferson finished Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia in 1942 after Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. The Army was looking for people to go to Tuskegee Army Airfield [Annotator's Note: Tuskegee, Alabama]. Jefferson was qualified, passed, and went to Tuskegee in April 1943. Jefferson went home to Detroit in 1942. Instead of being drafted, he became a Quartermaster. He took the Army exam and was told his name would be put on a list. From June 1942 until April 1943, Jefferson attended Howard University for chemistry. He wanted to be an organic research chemist. He was called to Tuskegee in April 1943 and left college. Jefferson joined class 44-A and graduated as second lieutenant in January 1944. He stayed at Tuskegee for one month flying P-40s [Annotator's Note: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter aircraft]. He transferred to Selfridge Air Force Base [Annotator's Note: now Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, Michigan]. Three squadrons had been formed; the 99th [Annotator's Note: 99th Fighter Squadron] in North Africa and three other formed flying P-39s [Annotator's Note: Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter aircraft] patrolling Italy. Jefferson was a replacement pilot for P-39s in Selfridge. Jefferson was kicked out of Selfridge Field for integrating the Officers' Club. In March 1944 and April 1944, he was sent to Walterboro, South Carolina for three weeks. Jefferson was then sent overseas as a replacement pilot for the 301st Fighter Squadron [Annotator's Note: 301st Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, 15th Air Force].

Alexander Jefferson traveled from Walterboro [Annotator's Note: Walterboro Army Airfield, Walterboro, South Carolina] to Hampton Roads, Virginia by boat across the ocean to Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy]. From Naples, he traveled by truck across Italy to Ramitelli. The morning of the last P-47 [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] mission, Jefferson and 15 other members watched a P-47 crash on the runway. Jefferson was not afraid because the men blamed the pilot for the crash. Jefferson was in a tent with Elsberry [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces Captain, later US Air Force Major, Joseph D. Elsberry], Faulkner [Annotator’s Note: US Army Air Forces Captain William J. Faulkner], and Dickson [Annotator’s Note: US Army Air Forces Captain Lawrence E. Dickson]. Elsberry had four victories. Faulkner died in the Alps due to the lack of oxygen. [Annotator's Note: Jefferson is confused about the name of Dickson and calls him Robert Daniels until he corrects himself; expresses confusion.] Dickson killed himself. Class 44-K was assigned to go to the line to check on a plane and fly three or four hours. [Annotator's Note: Jefferson loses his train of thought and is confused about where he was in the story.] His senior got in the plane first and the mechanic showed him the gears. He flew around and buzzed the field around them, rolling in the air and crashed the plane which killed him. The men found out later he never read the tank orders. The tank behind the pilot was full, causing the center of gravity to be off. Jefferson accomplished his transitional flight. After that, he flew 18 long range missions, escorted the B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] and B-24s [Annotator's Note: Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber] from Italy to France and Italy to Germany and Italy to Ploesti [Annotator's Note: Ploesti, Romania] and Italy to Greece. Jefferson's 19th mission was strafing radar stations on the coast of Southern France. The 301st [Annotator's Note: 301st Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, 15th Air Force] had a target outside the city of Douaumont, France on the coast. Jefferson was told to destroy the radar towers by flying over them and shoot them with the .50 caliber guns [Annotator's Note: Browning ANM2 .50 caliber machine gun] on the plane wings. There were four flights in the 301st. [Annotator's Note: Jefferson confuses the flight names.] Signs were called "Bubble", "Doorknob", and "Counter." Jefferson's was "Bubble Blue 4" meaning he is "Tail End Charlie" [Annotator's Note: last in the formation].

Alexander Jefferson volunteered for service in order to avoid the draft. If he had been drafted he would have been a quartermaster which was dirty work. Jefferson is thankful to Eleanor Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: First Lady of the United States Anna Eleanor Roosevelt; wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States], Chief Anderson [Annotator's Note: Charles Alfred "Chief" Anderson, Sr.; American aviator who is known as the Father of Black Aviation], and all the others who made it possible for him to become a pilot. He also credits Chauncey Spencer and his flight to Washington, DC. The airmen at Tuskegee Army Airfield were trained by Black civilian instructors. Jefferson came in the middle of the Tuskegee program. The first program was March 1942 and the last class was March 1946. Jefferson came out January 1944. Tuskegee Army Air field was ten miles away from the Institute. They hired the black civilians to teach flying. The officers at Tuskegee Army Air field were white because no blacks had been in the Army long enough to become an officer. The instructors in primary were black and the instructors in basic and advanced were white. Jefferson considered them heroes because many sacrificed careers to be basic commanders. The washout rate was high at Tuskegee. Of the 120 men who began training only 25 graduated. Some men could not fly and some men could not hold themselves mentally. Jefferson did not want to work as a private where he only made 21 dollars a month. Cadets made 75 dollars a month. Jefferson became a 2nd Lieutenant in nine months, receiving his gold bar and set of wings. He made 250 dollars a month as a pilot. Jefferson admitted it was a challenge to stay in training. Some men were eliminated days before graduation. One man went to sleep with his name on the graduating board and woke up with a red line through his name. He was eliminated for the benefit of the government. His family was there and the uniform was already bought but he was washed out just before graduation. Jefferson considers that a horrible thought. Some men suffered psychological and emotional damage. Jefferson only visited the town of Tuskegee once and met the Sheriff who was Pat Evans. Jefferson had traveled in the south, but never traveled downtown because of racism. Jefferson knew racism and segregation to know where to stop for gas and food and where not to stop.

Alexander Jefferson named his plane "Margot" after his classmate's sister. She attended graduation when Jefferson received his wings. The name "Margot" was on the projected airplane. She sent Jefferson a "Dear John" letter [Annotator's Note: a letter from a female to a male serviceman serving overseas breaking off a romantic engagement] while he was in the POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] camp, but he never got the letter and never saw her after the war. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks Jefferson about life in the United States as a young Second Lieutenant.] Jefferson was seen as a celebrity with his gold wings and Air Force status. He was able to get into any nightclub or bars with his uniform. Jefferson never had to buy a drink. Jefferson flew both the P-39 [Annotator's Note: Bell P-39 Aerocobra fighter aircraft] and P-40 [Annotator's Note: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter aircraft] before he went overseas but he did not fly the P-40 enough to know about it. The P-39 was straight and similar to sitting in an automobile until you tried to turn the plane. He flew close to 100 hours in the P-39 at the Selfridge Air Force Base [Annotator's Note: then Selfridge Field; now Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, Michigan]. Jefferson did not consider the P-39 a good fighter plane. The Russians used the plane to hunt tanks and gathered about 12 victories using the 37mm canon. [Annotator's Note: Jefferson listens as the interviewer remarks that Jefferson may have been shot down if he flew the P-47 mission over Toulon, France.] Jefferson considers the P-47 [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] plane more durable, but does not know if the plane could have survived the hit that took him down over France. When his plane was hit by a 20mm or 37mm fire came out of the floor. After talking to German officer, Jefferson learned the plane could have exploded if he was not over the tree tops. Jefferson flew C Models [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft] throughout the war and was supposed to get a D Model. Charlie White from Saint Louis [Annotator's Note: Saint Louis, Missouri] got his bed, his plane, and all of the model airplanes he left in his room.

Alexander Jefferson traveled overseas on the top deck with White nurses in a group of all Black officers. The White officers resented the Black officers for having the top deck. Jefferson admits enjoying the trip overseas. They traveled through the Straits of Gibraltar and through Oran, North Africa for four or five days. The men were told to always travel in large groups because Arabs in the desert would kill GIs [Annotator's Note: government issue; also a slang term for an American soldier] for their shoes, shirts, and sheets. Jefferson went from Oran to Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy] on an Indian vessel that smelled of curry. They stayed in Naples for four or five days at a hotel with working girls nearby. Jefferson and other officers stayed in tents at the base at Ramitelli [Annotator's Note: a temporary airfield southeast of Campomarino, Italy; part of the Foggia Airfield Complex]. During the summer the tents would be lifted to allow airflow and in the winter a stove powered by octane gas would supply warmth. The tents had bug nets with cans of DDT [Annotator's Note: dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane; a cancer causing insecticide that has been banned in the United States]. Jefferson flew Elsberry's [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces Captain, later US Air Force Major, Joseph D. Elsberry] wing many times. Jefferson never shot his guns at a German. The only time Jefferson had the opportunity was after a mission when he was free for search and destroy German airfields. Jefferson shot two trains and barges on the Danube River. Jefferson thought the P-51 [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft] would be a good ground attack aircraft until it met 20mm or 30mm [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft gun fire]. The P-51 flew similar to the AT6 [Annotator's Note: North American Aviation AT-6 Texan advanced trainer aircraft] but had more horsepower. Jefferson describes Colonel Davis [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces Colonel, later US Air Force General, Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr.] as a tall, stern disciplinarian but when they would play poker, the Colonel [Annotator's Note: Davis] referred to the men by their first names. Jefferson was known as "Little Jeff" only at poker. During military briefings, Davis commanded the men to stay with the bombers no matter what. Jefferson and his men stayed in formation, which is cited for their reputation. They lost bombers because it was impossible not to lose bombers because they were spread out over many miles. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview to switch out tapes.]

Alexander Jefferson listened to the BBC [Annotator's Note: British Broadcasting Corporation] radio at the POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] camp, but had no idea about the landings in Southern France. The POWs did not know the invasions were going off. If Jefferson had gone to the base he most likely would have had a mission during the invasion. [Annotator's Note: Jefferson shakes his head in agreement while the interviewer asks about nightmares other men had.] Jefferson had no nightmares. Men would have daytime and nighttime nightmares. Jefferson would wake the men up. The POWs had been watching the news on the progress of the Russians coming from the East. The men began to knit scarves, boots, hats and gloves because the weather was turning cold. The POWs ate the food stash they had accumulated and Jefferson gathered his drawings and stored them in his coat. The Germans would post news two or three days behind so the American information was two days late. The Germans told the men to move out. The night they left, they left around midnight. The evacuation was orderly. It was snowing and at a temperature of around 20 below. Jefferson's thoughts were to survive. The POWs were packed 70 or 90 men into a train fit for 40 or 50 men in Steinburg [Annotator's Note: Steinburg, Germany]. The train stopped after a day so the men could relieve themselves. Many men had dysentery. Jefferson does not recall other illnesses. Jefferson did not recall the Germans passing out flyers to pilots to fight for the German Army against the Russians. The barracks in Stalag VII-A [Annotator's Note: Moosburg, Germany] were occupied by Russians and other minorities. It had to be deloused and cleaned before they got there. The men were put into tents 200 or 300 feet long and 50 or 60 feet wide with woodchip sawdust as flooring and with woodchip mattresses. The barracks were filled with bedbugs and lice. [Annotator’s Note: This clip ends when a beeping noise occurs and neither Jefferson nor the interviewer can figure out where the noise is coming from.]

Alexander Jefferson survived the horrible conditions of Stalag Luft VII-A [Annotator's Note: Moosburg, Germany]. General Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] was horrified of the conditions when he came through. [Annotator's Note: Jefferson is shaking his head in agreement.] Jefferson and other POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] could watch other "Red Tail" [Annotator's Note: the aircraft flown by Jefferson's 332nd Fighter Group were identifiable by the red paint that covered the tail assemblies of the planes] P-51s [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft] strafing Moosburg. When that happened, the Germans brought the prisoners back inside. The POWs celebrated seeing the Red Tails. The B-17s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] bombed Munich [Annotator's Note: Munich, Germany] near the camp. The whole sky was covered in B-17 formations. Jefferson noticed empty spots when the planes returned. Jefferson flew with 64 planes when he flew. Jefferson saw P-51s flying overhead every six hours. Jefferson could hear the guns about a mile away. The German guards packed up and left. Only one German officer stayed, a man named Gladevich [Annotator's Note: unsure of spelling; unable to identify], until the Americans got to the camp. He welcomed the Americans when they came through. The American liberation was organized confusion. Some men went to Moosburg but Jefferson stayed in the camp waiting for the Americans. Jefferson could not see between buildings because of the all the prisoners and confusion. Patton rode through on a tank with the second wave of Americans. Jefferson felt jubilation upon liberation. The 4th Armored Division and the 14th Armored Division came in and brought a field kitchen including biscuits and gravy and chicken. The men got sick eating so much food.

Alexander Jefferson returned to the United States aboard ships, picking up men in England, and spending eight days crossing the Atlantic [Annotator's Note: Atlantic Ocean]. Jefferson arrived in New York Harbor [Annotator's Note: New York, New York]. The ship included thousands of men who had experienced war. Jefferson walked off the ship and was met by a White soldier who told the men, "Whites to the right and Niggers to the left." Jefferson met racism and segregation coming home. Jefferson hated the idea he fought for a country and people who did not appreciate him. Jefferson stayed in the service and returned to Tuskegee Army Airfield [Annotator's Note: Tuskegee, Alabama]. He was appointed as an instructor in advance and stayed until Tuskegee closed in 1946. Jefferson then transferred to Lockbourne Air Force Base in Columbus, Ohio and was "rif-ed" [Annotator's Note: reduction in force] out the Army in 1947. Jefferson married in Lockbourne. His wife was a parachute technician and he met her at Tuskegee. Jefferson left the Army as a First Lieutenant. He joined the Reserves in downtown Detroit [Annotator's Note: Detroit, Michigan]. The Reserves met and discussed everyday events. Jefferson joined the Reserves at Selfridge [Annotator's Note: then Selfridge Field; now Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, Michigan] in the recovery squadron. Jefferson recovered B-52s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber] coming back from bombing Russia. He continued to work in the Reserves until he retired. He also became an operations officer, an education and training officer, and an intelligence officer. Jefferson came home after two or three weeks and enrolled in Wayne State University [Annotator's Note: Detroit, Michigan] to be a research scientist. Jefferson qualified to be an elementary school science teacher in 1948. Jefferson used the G.I. Bill to return to school and get his Master's Degree in Education and 30 hours towards a Doctorate. The war opened up opportunities that would have never been open to him before due to segregation. The war did not change Jefferson's values or morals. Jefferson's father was strict and would not allow him to come in the house after 11 at night. Jefferson never swore around his family. Jefferson's grandfather was a minister with a very conservative family.

Alexander Jefferson worked in the post office after school when he returned home from war. Jefferson discovered that his father drank after the war. Jefferson fought in World War 2 because he has been an American all of his life and wanted to be treated equally. Jefferson believes he was part of the Civil Rights movement by being a Black member of the Army Air Corps and helped changed rules in the Army Air Corps. Jefferson and other Black pilots helped change the Army Air Corps by their deeds. Jefferson gets angry when he thinks of Italians, Irish, English and French who come to America thinking they own the country and tell him to go back to Africa. Jefferson fought for the United States because he considers this his country. The only Americans who have right to be Americans are the American Indians or Native Americans. Jefferson teaches kids about the invasion of the United States by Europeans. Jefferson believes it is important to carry on traditions and teach other generations about World War 2 by acknowledging the past. The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] is important to honor men who died in battle or thier history is lost. All of the histories in the museums need to be recorded to make sure all the men important to World War 2 are known. Jefferson believes it was strange to put the Tuskegee school [Annotator's Note: Tuskegee Army Airfield] in the south, but the Army controlled the situation and had the responsibility to decide the location. The school was placed where the White soldiers could control the White and Black integrated population and the weather in Alabama was better for training. Patterson [Annotator's Note: Dr. Frederick Douglass Patterson; former president of what is now Tuskegee University from 1935 to 1953 and founder of the United Negro College Fund] controlled the school in Alabama for money to buy the land for the Tuskegee Army Air Field. Jefferson did not believe integration was ready, because the south was still too strong. World War 2 had to happen for integration.

Alexander Jefferson's plane name was "Bubble Blue Subsoil." [Annotator's Note: Jefferson became quiet and was lost in thought.] The four plane names were "Red," "White," "Bubble," and "Blue." The first flight was "Red." "Red" came over 15,000 feet on the target. The radar towers were about 200 feet off the water. The first, second, and third flights came through. Jefferson's plane was the last. As his plane came through, he had trouble getting rid of his tanks. He had to catch up to get in formation and began firing at the radar stations. He hit the target and the shell backfired and came through the cockpit, creating a hole above Jefferson. Through nine months of pilot training, they never taught the men how to escape an aircraft. He pulled the stick upwards to ascend and the plane nose popped open and Jefferson pulled off his belt as the tail flew off the plane. He quickly pulled the ring to release the parachute as he hit the trees. His fellow pilots saw his plane go down, but did not see Jefferson leave the plane so he was reported KIA [Annotator's Note: Killed in Action] and his parents received a KIA notice. A German man found him in the trees as he was trying to get out of his parachute. They saluted him when the Germans saw his gold bar on his uniform. Jefferson was escorted to their German commanding officer who addressed him as "Lieutenant." He answered the German officer with his name, rank, and serial number. The German officer discussed Atlanta, Georgia; and Washington, DC; and Howard University; and Detroit [Annotator's Note: Detroit, Michigan]. The officer graduated from the University of Michigan in 1936 and went back to Germany and was placed in charge of field artillery. He was waiting for the war to be over so he could return to the United States. Jefferson was there for about four or five hours. The Germans brought in Robert Daniels who landed his plane on the water instead of evacuating when he was hit. The two were escorted by German guards through France by truck and cart and wagon while living off the land. They picked up Robert Macon in Avignon from the 99th [Annotator's Note: 99th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, 15th Air Force] with a broken back and collarbone. They were officially interrogated in Frankfurt on the Main [Annotator's Note: Dulag Luft Prisoner of War transit camp, Frankfurt, Germany]. Macon was put in the hospital and was not seen until they all returned to the United States. Daniels and Jefferson were transported by train across Germany to Poland to Stalag Luft III in August [Annotator's Note: August 1944]. He was assigned Barracks Eight in a room with three other men. They were there for about five or six months until January. The Russians came during the winter and the prisoners were forced to walk. The guards were old men who were terrified of the Russians. About four miles in, the old guards had to put their guns in the wagon so they could continue walking. The men arrived in Spremberg [Annotator's Note: Spremberg, Germany] where they were assigned into 40 and 8s [Annotator's Note: railroad box cars that could handle 40 men or eight horses]. It took them two days to get to Stalag VII-A near Munich [Annotator's Note: Munich, Germany] where they stayed until General Patton's [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] Third Army came through and liberated the camp. That was a momentous day for Jefferson.

They [Annotator's Note: Alexander Jefferson and fellow prisoners of war] always knew where the Americans were because they were getting the news from the BBC [Annotator's Note: British Broadcasting Corporation] on a small clandestine radio. The camp was liberated by Patton's [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] 3rd Army on 29 April 1945. Field kitchens were brought in and the prisoners were fed. Some of the men ate too much. The Red Cross food parcels kept them alive. They were also paid prior to be flown to Verdun [Annotator's Note: Verdun, France] from where they were to hitchhike to Camp Lucky Strike [Annotator's Note: one of the transit and rehabilitation camps in France named after popular cigarette brands; Lucky Strike was near Le Havre, France] in Le Havre. There, they would catch a boat back to the United States. Before leaving Europe, Jefferson visited Dachau [Annotator's Note: Dachau concentration camp complex near Dachau, Germany]. Jefferson wanted to be a research scientist when he got home. With his qualifications, he became an elementary school science teacher. In Detroit in 1972 in Jefferson's basement, the Detroit Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. was formed. It was the first chapter. They were not know as Tuskegee Airmen prior to that. The first gathering of Tuskegee Airmen was in a hotel in Detroit in August 1942 [Annotator's Note: 1972]. There are now 40 or 50 chapters of Tuskegee Airmen.

Alexander Jefferson flew a mission to Ploesti [Annotator's Note: Ploesti, Romania]. It was the first time Jefferson had ever gotten sick. They were flying top cover escorting B-17s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber]. The first time he had been to Ploesti, the B-17s got to the Initial Point [Annotator's Note: the point at which a bomber begins its bomb run] and Jefferson left them. Over the target was a big black cloud. They had been through flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire] when the 88s [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] explode. The B-17s were heading into the black cloud over the target. Jefferson and his men waited for the bombers to come out of the cloud. They watched men jump out of their planes and the planes explode. Jefferson saw eight men die and got sick and passed out. On all of Jefferson's missions, he never saw anyone get hit like in the movies. He had to clean his own cockpit after he got sick. When Jefferson wasn't flying at Ramitelli [Annotator's Note: a temporary airfield southeast of Campomarino, Italy; part of the Foggia Airfield Complex], he would help the crew chief work on airplanes, especially that V-12 [Annotator's Note: the North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft was powered by the British Rolls-Royce Merlin liquid-cooled V-12 piston aircraft engine]. Jefferson considers himself a "mechanical nerd." Jefferson did not write home often and did not receive mail too often. Ramitelli was a totally segregated air base. The name comes from the Italian wheat farmer who owned the land and whose house was the headquarters. The location was a quarter mile off the Adriatic Sea. The only places the planes would fail would be over the water or into the mountains. Jefferson had no contact with the Italian civilians. He was only at Ramitelli for two months. The men at Ramitelli could not go to the Island of Capri so they made their rest camp at Rome [Annotator's Note: Rome, Italy]. Jefferson was not scared at any point while being shot down. It never crossed his mind that he would be treated differently because he was not White. Jefferson drew pictures of how he got out of airplanes. The men in bomber crews described to him what it was like to be injured in the plane. Jefferson never had any nightmares. Jefferson's interrogation at Dulag Luft [Annotator's Note: Dulag Luft Prisoner of War transit camp and interrogation center near Frankfurt am Main, Germany] was interesting. The interrogator had a book labeled, "332nd Fighter Group, Negroes, Red Tails" that included pictures of all of his former classmates, Jefferson's graduation picture, his high school grades, and college grades. This man knew more about Jefferson than Jefferson knew about himself. [Annotator's Note: A telephone rings and Jefferson goes to answer it. There is a pause in video.] After interrogation, Jefferson joined other POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] at Wetzlar [Annotator's Note: Wetzlar, Germany] near Frankfurt on the Main. These men also mentioned the interrogator knew more about them as well.

Alexander Jefferson went into Stalag Luft III [Annotator's Note: then in Sagan, Germany; now Żagań, Poland] with about 75 to 100 prisoners. The rooms were crowded so they turned the double bunk rooms into triple bunk rooms. When the prisoners went to select which of the new arrivals would stay with them, a southerner who referred to Jefferson as "boy" selected him. Jefferson was hesitant as he expected that the man was a racist. Then a colonel requested that Jefferson follow the man into his room which he did. [Annotator's Note: Jefferson is confused thinking about the man's name.] The room Jefferson was put in was part of the camp's security room. They knew Jefferson was not a German. Jefferson was in the camp at 22 years old. The senior colonel was the officer in charge of the Americans. He did not deal with a lot of racism. Jefferson never spoke to the German guards inside the camp. A couple weeks after Jefferson came into the camp, a bomber crew from the 15th Air Force came in and spread the tale of the Red Tails [Annotator's Note: nickname for the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group, 15th Air Force] staying with the bombers. Jefferson's reputation rose in camp because the Red Tails were known to bring the men back. The hardest part about the POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] camp was the food. Germans didn't have much food. If it was not for the International Red Cross food parcels, the men would have died. They were supposed to get one box per man per week, but they ended up having half a box per man. Instead of ten boxes per week in the room they got five. The men did their own cooking in the room. The Red Cross parcels included a small can of liverwurst, a small can of Spam, a quarter pound of cheese, a can of powdered milk called "Klim", a chocolate D bar [Annotator's Note: D ration bar] and four or five packs of cigarettes. Jefferson said everybody smoked and mentions different cigarette ads. On the Navy ships nobody smoked until a bell sounded. The war made smokers out of soldiers causing cancer rates among World War 2 veterans to be so high. Jefferson began smoking at age 16 when he left home. Jefferson was smoking two packs a day when he joined the war and quit cold turkey in 1970. Jefferson taught a lesson to his students showing a smoke-damaged lung and a healthy lung and quit when his students asked what kind of cigarettes he smoked. [Annotator's Note: Jefferson reacts to the interviewer's story of smoking.] Jefferson never tried to escape because he was too far inside of Germany and could never escape being a Black man. The men listened to the BBC [Annotator's Note: British Broadcasting Corporation] radio and knew where the American troops were.