A Brief History
On October 27, 1954, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. became the first African-American general (brigadier, or 1 star) in the U.S. Air Force. In 1998, he was promoted by President Clinton to (full) general (4-star rank). This accomplishment is all the more notable as he was the son of the first African-American general in the U.S. Army. His father, Benjamin O. Davis Sr., made general in 1940, a time when the U.S. military was still segregated.
Digging Deeper
Born in 1912, Ben Jr. was granted an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) in 1932. There, in 1936, he became the first African-American to graduate since 1889 and only the 4th African-American to graduate at all. He had gotten his appointment from the only African-American member of Congress at the time, Chicago’s Oscar De Priest.
The young Davis had a hard time at West Point, with the white cadets cruelly shunning him and giving him the silent treatment. No white cadet was made to room with him, so for 4 years he lived and ate alone. Despite this shameful experience, Ben Jr. excelled and graduated 35th of his class of 278. Upon graduation and his commission as a second lieutenant, he became only the second black officer in the U.S. army after his father!
In 1942, Ben Jr. fulfilled his lifelong interest in flying when he became the first graduate of the Tuskegee flight school. He was then promoted to lieutenant colonel and given command of the first African-American flying squadron. Not permitted to join the Army Air Corps after graduation from West Point because the Army did not allow black pilots back then, Davis Jr. had been teaching at Tuskegee before getting the flight school assignment. His teaching job was a backhanded way for the Army to avoid having an African-American officer in charge of white troops.
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. went on to command the “Tuskegee Airmen” of World War II fame, himself flying 60 combat missions in P-40s, P-47s,and P-51s. Together they dive bombed, strafed ground targets and escorted bombers. During the war, Davis Jr. earned the Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross, among other medals.
Incredibly, senior officers had been opposed to allowing African-Americans to fly in combat and had made baseless allegations about poor performance. Davis Jr. stood up to these claims, and a comparative investigation of the performance of black and white units found similar performance.
The success of the “Tuskegee Airmen” and other black units and the standard of excellence set by Benjamin Davis, Jr. certainly influenced President Truman’s decision to integrate the U.S. armed forces in 1948.
In the Korean War, Davis Jr. flew a F-86 Sabre Jet, and in 1970 he retired as a lieutenant general (3 stars). He was not, however, yet done serving his country and held several other positions before dying in 2002. At his funeral a “Red Tail” P-51 Mustang flew overhead in honor of his time as a “Tuskegee Airman.” Professor Molefi Asante of Temple University named him one of the 100 Greatest African-Americans, but we here at History and Headlines just name him one of the Greatest Americans, period.
Question for students (and subscribers): Who is your favorite black military officer? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Davis Jr., Benjamin O. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. American: An Autobiography. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990.
Earl, Sari. Benjamin O. Davis Jr.: Air Force General & Tuskegee Airmen Leader (Military Heroes). Abdo Group, 2010.
Fletcher, Marvin E. America’s First Black General: Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., 1880-1970 (Modern War Studies). Univ Pr of Kansas, 1989.
