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November 13, 2013
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Page 3
Fred Meyer
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S a lu te to O u r V eterans
The Portland Observer gives thanks to all current and
form er members o f the Armed Forces on this Veterans
Day 2012.
We deeply appreciate the sacrifices you have made and
honor your dedicated and loyal service to the country.
ThcWeek Review
R eligion
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page 4
page 11
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ENTERTAINMENT
pages 14-18
photo by D onovan M. S mith / T he P ortland O bserver
Alexander Jefferson, 92 (right), a member o f the historic Tuskegee Airmen joins State Rep. Lew
Frederick during a Veterans forum at Portland Community College’s Cascade Campus. Jefferson
recounted several moments o f racism and countless war deaths during his tenure o f service in
World War II, but the Detroit-native still heralds the United States o f America as “the greatest
country in the world. ”
Surviving Hell
METRO
Tuskegee Airman recalls horrors of World War II
D onovan M. S mith
T he P ortland O bserver
by
C alendar
page 20
C lassifieds
page 21
O pinion
pages 22-23
“W ar is hell,” that was the con
stant refram e from A lexander
Jefferson, one o f the last living
members o f the historic all-black
m ilitary air-squad, the Tuskegee
Airmen. During a veterans forum
at Portland Com munity C ollege’s
Cascade Campus in north Port
land, Jefferson shared his W orld
W ar II accounts o f seeing heaps
o f hum an b o d ies set aflam e,
friends being torn away by gun
fire before his eyes, and even be-
com ing a prison o f war where
worms and sawdust were not an
uncommon part o f his diet.
Jefferson, 92, also shared his
thoughts on civil rights and serv
ing a county that was divided
along racial lines during the war,
and where he was treated as a
second rate citizen due to his skin
color, even as he put his life on the
line for the nation daily. Still, he
manages to hail the United States
o f America as “the greatest coun
try in the w orld.”
The great grandson o f an en
slaved man, Jefferson was born in
Detroit on Nov. 15, 1921. By the
time W orld W ar II was beginning
to engulf the world he had earned
his B achelor’s degree in science
from the highly regarded histori
cally black institution Clark C ol
lege in Atlanta and a M asters in
education from W ayne State U ni
versity in his hometown.
Despite an impressive educa
tio n a l b a ck g ro u n d , Je ffe rs o n
would enroll into the U. S. Army
continued
on page 6
Local Charity Mobilizes Typhoon Help
F ood
page 24
Portland based Medical Teams
International is mobilizing ship
ments of medicines and medical
supplies to care for those affected
by Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of
the most powerful typhoons on
record.
The storm has left widespread
devastation affecting 4.3 million
people, including 800,000 who fled
their homes in the Philippines. In
Tacloban, the provincial capital of
Leyte Island, it is feared at least
10,000people are dead. Those num
bers are expected to rise as the hard
est hit areas become more acces
sible to rescue and relief efforts.
Medical Teams International,
working with International Medical
Corps, will ship emergency health
kits containing pharmaceuticals and
medical items that cover the basic
needs of people for three months in
emergency situations.
Those seeking to support the
e ffo rt m ay d o n ate o n lin e at
medicalteams.org/typhoon.