On June 22, the country lost a patriot, southeast Michigan lost one of its most distinguished citizens, the Air Force lost a legend—and I lost a friend.
In a rich life that spanned humankind’s scaling of the heavens from Charles Lindbergh’s Atlantic crossing in a flimsy monoplane to tourists joyriding in space atop sleek rockets, Alexander Jefferson could proudly stake a claim as one of the begoggled pioneers who blazed an indelible trail in the sky. His dream of flight was born while growing up in Detroit and it rooted in Rouge Park, a sprawling green space on the city’s west side, where he delighted in slinging his hand-built model airplanes into the freedom of the open air.
