Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: The Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman and POW

Air & Space Power Journal, Spring, 2008 by Robert Tate

Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: The Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman and POW by Lt Col Alexander Jefferson, USAF, retired. Fordham University Press (http://www.fordhampress.com), University Box L, Bronx, New York 10458, 2005, 133 pages, $29.95 (hardcover).

There tends to be something special about memoirs and the recollections of the men and women who actually participated in the history-making events that we, unfortunately, are only able to read about. When I saw Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free, I jumped at the chance to review this book. It is written by Lt Col Alexander Jefferson, USAF, retired, a Tuskegee Airman. What makes this book so special is not necessarily his wartime exploits as a fighter pilot, but the telling of his journey to become a Tuskegee Airman. Even more intriguing is that he was shot down, captured, and had the opportunity to spend nine months as a guest of the German Reich as a prisoner of war. To date, there has been very little written on the experiences of black prisoners of war during World War II.

Red Tail Captured is written in a very unassuming format that is easy and enjoyable to read. Many books of this nature, like I Flew for the Fuehrer by Heinz Knoke, one of my favorite wartime accounts, tend to be somewhat heavy handed in an attempt to lead the reader in a certain direction or espouse a certain political point of view. Alexander Jefferson does neither. In his discussions about growing up in Detroit, the author puts the reader at ease, almost as if he were talking to an old friend. But with any historical topic that continues to be written about, the question arises as to the book's utility and/or importance to the subject. Although it is a good memoir, I am somewhat ambivalent regarding its historical relevance.

Readers looking for a wartime history of a Tuskegee pilot with a detailed synopsis of each of his sorties should look elsewhere. In fact, this book lacks many of the items found in many of the best historical studies. For example, it would have been nice if the author had written more on the 18 missions he completed before being shot down on his 19th. Likewise, there are relatively few wartime photographs of the author, the men of the 332nd Fighter Group, or the aircraft they flew. Although I can distinguish a P-40 from a P-51 or an Me-109 or an FW-190, some people cannot, and it would have been nice to see photographs of those aircraft. Likewise, any time I read a historical manuscript that describes distant places, I consider it essential to have maps of the area or theater of operations. Although the author talks about his base in Ramitelli, Italy, and several places in Germany, without a map, it is difficult to get an idea of where he is actually talking about. Hopefully if there is a second reprinting, it will include these items.

The author does, however, bring to light many other fascinating stories such as his treatment and life as a Kriege--a prisoner of war. It was interesting to know that at no time was he, as a black man, mistreated by the Germans. I found that to be rather significant considering many of the more ardent German views on race at the time. Although Red Tail Captured contains precious few photographs, what the book does have in abundance are the drawings the author made while overseas. A rather accomplished sketch artist, the author fills the book with dozens of these excellent drawings. It is in these drawings that Alexander's story is brought more vividly to life.

Overall, I liked Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free. Although not the best aviation book on the Tuskegee Airmen--arguably not this book's purpose--Jefferson's memoir is an honest and fresh look at one man's personal journey through life before, during, and after the war. It is more than a story about a pilot who flew P-51s against the Germans; it is about a man--at a time in American history when blacks were expected to fail--who overcame all obstacles and graduated from college with degrees in chemistry and biology, fought for his country, and then led a life teaching and mentoring others. This memoir is truly a credit to this man and remains a worthwhile read. Although I consider this memoir important for anybody interested in this area of history, $29.95 may be quite a large investment for a book without photographs, maps, charts, or more detailed descriptions of combat missions flown. Hopefully Fordham University Press will publish a second edition and turn it into a much more affordable paperback. It is regrettable that the steep price tag will likely push some readers away from purchasing this book.

Lt Col Robert F. Tate, USAFR, Retired

Montgomery, Alabama