Harvey Reginald Alexander (1921 - 2013)

Born 13 Apr 1921 in Georgetown, Vermilion, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Died 16 Aug 2013 at age 92 in Greensboro, Guilford, North Carolina, United States

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Biography

Harvey Alexander is Notable.

Harvey Alexander served in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II
Service started:
Unit(s): 332nd Fighter Group
Service ended:

Harvey Reginald Alexander served as a US military pilot during World War II. He was one of the “Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen.” The Tuskegee Airmen were known for heroic combat service in support of Allied Forces in the European Theater. They served with the 332d Expeditionary Operations Group and the 477th Bombardment Group, both largely Black units of the United States Army Air Forces.

Harvey Reginald Alexander was born in 1921. He was the son of Halbert Jehue Alexander and Mattie Belle Kaiser.

Harvey graduated in Tuskegee class 44-D-TE on 15 Apr 1944 as a 2nd Lt. ^[1]

He passed away in 2013. (See detailed obituary below).^[2]

Congressional Gold Medal

Obituary

"Harvey Reginald Alexander Tuskegee Airman

Greensboro, NC: Harvey Reginald Alexander, Greensboro resident passed away at Moses Cone hospital at 12:31 a.m. on Friday, August 16. His funeral service will be held at St. James Presbyterian Church at 12 p.m. Wednesday, August 21 immediately followed by his burial at Guilford Memorial Park, 6000 High Point Rd, Greensboro, NC 27407.

Alexander will be interred with full military honors for his service as a Tuskegee Airmen. Harvey Alexander was born April 13, 1921 in Georgetown, IL, the second of nine children, to Mattie Belle Kaiser Alexander and Halbert Jehrue Alexander. Alexander was the Salutatorian of his Georgetown, IL High School Class of 1939, a member of the National Honor Society, and the recipient of the Bausch Lomb Science Award.

He attended Fisk University in Nashville, TN; the University of Southern Illinois, College of Commerce in Champagne-Urbana, IL (BS degree, 1947); Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA (MS degree in Accounting, 1950) and did further study at New York University Graduate School of Business Administration. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Public Service on February 23, 2006, by Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, AL.

He served in the United States Army from 1942 through 1945, spending five months in the Infantry, where he attained the rank of Corporal prior to transfer to the Army Air Corps at Tuskegee, AL. He graduated from the Tuskegee Army Air Corps Pilot Training Program on April 15, 1944, receiving his Wings and Commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. Assigned to the 617th Squadron, 477th Bombardment Group Medium, in the United States Theater of Operations, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in October 1944. He was honorably discharged October 21, 1945 and served in the United States Air Force Reserve, from which he retired with the rank of Captain in 1960.

His professional career included teaching college level accounting: two years at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA and over seven years at North Carolina A&T College; the next 21 years as Chief Business Financial Officer at several institutions of higher education, including Shaw University in Raleigh, NC, A&T College (now NCA&TSU); Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC; Pratt Institute in New York City, Washington Technical Institute in Washington, DC; and Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN. He operated his own full service food vending company in Nashville until retiring in 1986.

He and his wife, Esther Alexander returned to Greensboro in retirement, where he built their final home. He held memberships in the East Coast Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., Washington, DC, the North Carolina Aviation Museum at Asheboro, NC, and life memberships in the Reserve Officers Association and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He was a contributor of artifacts and memorabilia to the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, NC. He was a long-time member, Elder, treasurer, and former Sunday School Superintendent of St. James Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, NC.

Harvey Alexander is survived by his beloved wife of more than 69 years, Esther Beatty Alexander; his daughters Robin Cheryl Alexander of Washington, DC and Karen Marie Alexander of Greensboro, NC; three grandchildren: Tanya Camille Smith (Roman) of Clinton, MD, Rodney Harvey Turner (Naomi) of Springfield, VA, and Esther Marie Turner (Thomas Steinfeldt) of Norfolk, VA; four great-grandchildren: Aundrea Nicole Turner, Mia Jordan Turner, Xavier Alexander Smith, and Zuri Alexander Smith; two sisters-in-law: Bobbye Alexander of Los Angeles, CA and Hazel Alexander of Detroit, MI; numerous nephews and nieces; and a host of family and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings."

Information provided by Esther Marie Turner (One of Alexander's Granddaughters)

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Tuskegee_Airmen
2. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115772500/harvey-reginald-alexander: accessed 11 November 2022), memorial page for CPT Harvey Reginald Alexander (13 Apr 1921–16 Aug 2013), Find a Grave Memorial ID 115772500, citing Guilford Memorial Park, Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina, USA; Maintained by Desert29Girl (contributor 47554298) .