A 600-pound bronze statue of a Tuskegee airman has been found after it was stolen from a city park, Detroit police said Friday. The statue of Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson was reported missing Wednesday evening from Rouge Park on Detroit's far west side, police said.
It appeared to have been sawed off at the ankles.
Details on how and where it was recovered will be released soon, Cpl. Dan Donakowski said.
No arrests were reported. Investigators believe the statue was taken sometime Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, possibly with the intention of selling the metal for scrap.
Jefferson was a member of the famed Red Tails during World War II. The unit escorted bombers over Europe. Jefferson was shot down and held as a prisoner of war. He returned home to Detroit following his release.
Jefferson later taught in schools and served as a vice principal. He also helped form the Tuskegee Airmen chapter in Detroit.
The airmen were the nation's first all-Black air fighter squadron. They trained and fought separately from white fighter units due to segregation in the U.S. military. Their unit was based in Tuskegee, Alabama, but Michigan served as an advanced training ground during the war.
Jefferson's statue was unveiled in June. The ceremony was attended by Mayor Mike Duggan, Jefferson's family and his former students. A plaza for the statue also was built.
Jefferson flew model airplanes in the area of the park where the statue was placed. That field already had been named for him. He was honored in 2021 by the city on his 100th birthday. Jefferson died in 2022.
"Lt. Col. Jefferson was a hero in every sense of the word and so richly deserves this honor," Duggan said during the statue's unveiling. "He distinguished himself as a Tuskegee Airman and prisoner of war in World War II, and again at home as a celebrated educator. The people of Detroit are deeply grateful to him for his service and this plaza and statue is a reflection of our collective appreciation."
APR reported last year on the 80th anniversary of the first time the Tuskegee Airmen served in combat. On June 9, 1943, the Tuskegee Airmen had their first air battle against German fighters over North Africa.
The airmen were escorting bombers over the Italian island, Pantelleria, before being attacked by German fighter planes. All Tuskegee Airmen survived.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American pilots admitted into the U.S. military. They were also the only African American pilots enlisted during World War II. While many airmen were not native Alabamians, the only place African Americans could initially receive their basic and advanced military training was near the city of Tuskegee in Alabama.
Alex Colvin is a public programs curator for the Alabama Department of Archives and History. She said the pilots helped combat both fascism abroad and racial inequality at home.
“These are people who are making huge contributions in World War II,” she said. “It’s a huge contribution of Alabamians in World War II. The Tuskegee Airmen are definitely a huge part in understanding the civil rights movement [and] how African Americans, even before what we kind of think of as the civil rights movement, are working toward greater equality.”
Over time, the Tuskegee Airmen represented not only 1,000 pilots but the more than 13,000 personnel who served with them.
The airmen achieved many feats during the war. They received three distinguished unit citations for flights over Italy and Germany and more than 60 Purple Hearts. They also helped prepare for the Allied invasion in Europe, took down German fighter jets while in Berlin and protected bombers.
