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Benjamin O. Davis Jr. | |
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| Born | (1912-12-18)December 18, 1912 Washington, D.C., United States |
| Died | July 4, 2002(2002-07-04) (aged 89) Washington, D.C., United States |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Army United States Air Force |
| Service years | 1930–1970 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | 99th Pursuit Squadron 332nd Fighter Group Tuskegee Airmen 51st Fighter Wing Thirteenth Air Force |
| Conflicts | World War II Korean War Second Taiwan Strait Crisis Vietnam War |
| Awards | Air Force Distinguished Service Medal (2) Army Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Legion of Merit (3) Distinguished Flying Cross Air Medal (5) Army Commendation Medal (3) Langley Gold Medal |
| Relations | Benjamin O. Davis Sr. (father) |
| Other work | Federal Sky Marshal Program Assistant Secretary of Transportation |
Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. (December 18, 1912 – July 4, 2002) was aUnited States Air Force (USAF)general and commander of theWorld War IITuskegee Airmen.
He was the first African-Americanbrigadier general in the USAF. After his retirement, on December 9, 1998, he was advanced tofour-star general by PresidentBill Clinton. During World War II, Davis was commander of the99th Fighter Squadron and the332nd Fighter Group, which escorted bombers on air combat missions over Europe. Davis flew sixty missions inP-39 Airacobra,Curtiss P-40 Warhawk,P-47 Thunderbolt, andP-51 Mustang fighters and was one of the first African-American pilots to see combat. Davis followed in his father's footsteps in breaking racial barriers, asBenjamin O. Davis Sr. had been the first Black general in theUnited States Army.[1]
Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. was born inWashington, D.C. on December 18, 1912, the second of three children born toBenjamin O. Davis Sr. and Elnora Dickerson Davis.[2] His father was aU.S. Army officer, a lieutenant at that time, stationed inWyoming with the9th Cavalry, a segregated African-American regiment. Davis Sr. served 41 years before he was promoted to brigadier general in October 1940. Elnora Davis died from complications after giving birth to their third child in 1916.[citation needed]
In the summer of 1926, at age 13, Davis Jr (or Davis) flew with abarnstorming pilot atBolling Field in Washington, D.C. The experience led to his determination to become a pilot himself.[2]
In 1929, at the beginning of theGreat Depression, Davis graduated from Central High School inCleveland, Ohio.[2] That same year, he began attendingWestern Reserve University (1929–1930).[2][3]
In July 1932, after attending theUniversity of Chicago, Davis entered theUnited States Military Academy (West Point).[2][3] He graduated from West Point in 1936, becoming the first black man to do so since 1889.[4] His sponsor wasRepresentativeOscar De Priest (R-IL) ofChicago, who was, at the time, the only black member ofCongress.[citation needed]
During his four years at the academy, Davis was isolated by his white classmates on account of his race. He never had a roommate. He ate by himself. His classmates rarely spoke to him outside the line of duty, intending that their "silent treatment" would drive him from the academy. It had the opposite effect; it steeled his determination to endure the animosity and to compete and graduate. Ultimately, his perseverance earned the respect of his classmates, as evidenced by a biographical note of Davis in the 1936 yearbook, theHowitzer:
"The courage, tenacity, and intelligence with which he conquered a problem incomparably more difficult than plebe year won for him the sincere admiration of his classmates, and his single-minded determination to continue in his chosen career cannot fail to inspire respect wherever fortune may lead him."[5]
Davis graduated in June 1936, 35th in a class of 276. He was the academy's fourth black graduate afterHenry Ossian Flipper (1877),John Hanks Alexander (1887), andCharles Young (1889).[2] When he was commissioned as a second lieutenant, the Army had only two black officers who weren't chaplains – Benjamin O. Davis Sr. and Benjamin O. Davis Jr.[6] After graduation he married Agatha Scott whom he met while a cadet at West Point.[3]
At the start of his junior year at West Point, Davis had applied for theArmy Air Corps but was rejected because it did not accept African Americans. In 1936, theU.S. Army assigned Davis to the all-black24th Infantry Regiment (one of the originalBuffalo Soldier regiments) atFort Benning, Georgia. He was not allowed inside the base officers' club based on his race.[citation needed]
In June 1937, Davis attended theU.S. Army Infantry School atFort Benning.[2] He was later assigned to teachmilitary tactics atTuskegee Institute, ahistorically black college inTuskegee,Alabama.[2] This was the same assignment his father was given years before; it was a way for the Army to avoid placing a black officer in command of white soldiers.[citation needed]
Early in 1941, theRoosevelt administration, in response to public pressure for greater black participation in the military as war approached, ordered theWar Department to create a black flying unit. Captain Davis was assigned to the first training class at Tuskegee Army Air Field (hence the nameTuskegee Airmen). In July 1941, Davis entered aviation cadet training with the Tuskegee Airmen's first class of aviation cadets, Class 42-C-SE.[7] On March 6, 1942, Davis graduated from aviation cadet training with CaptainGeorge S. Roberts; 2nd Lt.Charles DeBow Jr. (Feb 13, 1918 – April 4, 1968),[8] 2nd Lt.Mac Ross (1912–1944),[9] and 2nd Lt.Lemuel R. Custis (1915–2005). Davis and his four classmates became the first African American combat fighter pilots in the U.S. military.[10][11]
Davis was the first African American officer to solo an Army Air Corps aircraft. In July that year, having been promoted to lieutenant colonel, he was named commander of the first all-black air unit, the99th Pursuit Squadron.[citation needed]
The squadron, equipped withCurtiss P-40 fighters, was sent toTunisia in North Africa in the spring of 1943. On June 2, they saw combat for the first time in a dive-bombing mission against theGerman-held island ofPantelleria as part ofOperation Corkscrew.[12] The squadron later supported theAllied invasion of Sicily.[citation needed]
In September 1943, Davis was deployed to the United States to take command of the332nd Fighter Group, a larger all-black unit preparing to go overseas. Soon after his arrival, there was an attempt to stop the use of black pilots in combat. Senior officers in the Army Air Forces recommended to the Army chief of staff, GeneralGeorge Marshall, that the 99th (Davis's old unit) be removed from combat operations as it had performed poorly. This infuriated Davis as he had never been told of any deficiencies with the unit. He held a news conference atThe Pentagon to defend his men and then presented his case to a War Department committee studying the use of black servicemen.[citation needed]
Marshall ordered an inquiry but allowed the 99th to continue fighting in the meantime. The inquiry eventually reported that the 99th's performance was comparable to other air units, but any questions about the squadron's fitness were answered in January 1944 when its pilots shot down 12 German planes in two days while protecting theAnzio beachhead.[citation needed]
Colonel Davis and his 332nd Fighter Group arrived inItaly soon after that. The four-squadron group, which was called the Red Tails for the distinctive markings of its planes, were based atRamitelli Airfield and flew many missions deep into German territory. By summer 1944 the Group had transitioned toP-47 Thunderbolts. In the summer of 1945, Davis took over the all-black477th Bombardment Group, which was stationed atGodman Field,Kentucky.[citation needed]
During the war, the airmen commanded by Davis had compiled an outstanding record in combat against theLuftwaffe. They flew more than 15,000 sorties, shot down 112 enemy planes, and destroyed or damaged 273 on the ground at a cost of 66 of their own planes and losing only about twenty-five bombers. Davis himself led 67 missions in P-47s andP-51 Mustangs.[13] He received theSilver Star for a strafing run intoAustria and theDistinguished Flying Cross for a bomber-escort mission toMunich on June 9, 1944.[13]
Davis was one of ten officers to preside over theFreeman Field mutiny courts-martial; appointed by GeneralFrank O'Driscoll Hunter. They were: Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr., CaptainGeorge L. Knox II, CaptainJames T. Wiley, Captain John H. Duren, Captain Charles R. Stanton, captain William T. Yates, Captain Elmore M. Kennedy, CaptainFitzroy Newsum, 1st LieutenantWilliam Robert Ming Jr. and 1st LieutenantJames Y. Carter. Trial Judge Advocates were: Captain James W. Redden and 1st LieutenantCharles B. Hall.[14]
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In July 1948, PresidentHarry S. Truman signedExecutive Order 9981 ordering theracial integration of thearmed forces. Colonel Davis helped draft the Air Force plan for implementing this order. The Air Force was the first of the services to integrate fully.[citation needed]
In 1949, Davis attended Air War College.[2] He later served at the Pentagon and in overseas posts over the next two decades. Noteworthy is that during his time at the Pentagon, he drafted the staffing package and gained approval to create the Air Force Thunderbird flight demonstration team.[15] He again saw combat in 1953 when he assumed command of the51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing (51 FIW) and flew anF-86 Sabre inKorea. He served as director of operations and training at Far East Air Forces Headquarters, Tokyo, from 1954 until 1955, when he assumed the position of vice commander ofThirteenth Air Force, with additional duty as commander of Air Task Force 13 (Provisional),Taipei,Taiwan. During his time inTokyo, he was temporarily promoted to the rank of brigadier general.[citation needed]
In April 1957, General Davis arrived atRamstein Air Base, West Germany, as chief of staff ofTwelfth Air Force,U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). When the Twelfth Air Force was transferred toJames Connally Air Force Base, Texas in December 1957, he assumed new duties as deputy chief of staff for operations, Headquarters USAFE,Wiesbaden Air Base, West Germany. While in West Germany he was temporarily promoted to major general in 1959, and his promotion to brigadier general was made permanent in 1960.[2]
In July 1961, he returned to the United States and Headquarters U.S. Air Force, where he served as the director of manpower and organization, deputy chief of staff for programs and requirements. Davis's promotion to major general was made permanent early the next year, and in February 1965 he was assigned as assistant deputy chief of staff, programs and requirements.[2] He remained in that position until his assignment as chief of staff for theUnited Nations Command andU.S. Forces in Korea (USFK) in April 1965, at which time he was promoted to lieutenant general. He assumed command of the Thirteenth Air Force atClark Air Base in theRepublic of the Philippines in August 1967.[2]
Davis was assigned as deputy commander in chief,U.S. Strike Command, with headquarters atMacDill Air Force Base, Florida, in August 1968, with additional duty as commander in chief, Middle-East, Southern Asia and Africa. He retired from active military service on February 1, 1970.[2]
After his retirement from the United States Air Force, General Davis becameCleveland's public safety director, from February 1970, appointed by MayorCarl Stokes. He resigned in July 1970, not feeling that Stokes was supporting him sufficiently, and that "enemies of law enforcement" were receiving support from within Stokes' administration.[16]
On December 9, 1998, Davis Jr. was promoted to general, U.S. Air Force (retired), with President Bill Clinton pinning on his four-star insignia.[2][17] In the late 1980s he began to work on his autobiography,Benjamin O. Davis Jr.: American: An Autobiography.
Historically, both thePeople's Republic of China (PRC) and theRepublic of China (ROC) on Taiwan espoused aOne-China Policy that considered the strait part of theexclusive economic zone of a single "China".[citation needed] In practice, a maritime border of control exists along the median line down the strait.[18] In 1955, Davis defined this median line by drawing a line down the middle of the strait. The US then pressured both sides into entering into a tacit agreement not to cross the median line.[19][20]
General Davis' effective dates of promotion are:[17]
 | Second Lieutenant, June 12, 1936 |
 | First Lieutenant, June 19, 1939 |
 | Captain, October 9, 1940 (temporary); June 12, 1946 (permanent) |
 | Major, May 13, 1942 (temporary); |
 | Lieutenant colonel, May 29, 1942 (temporary); July 2, 1948 (permanent) |
 | Colonel, May 29, 1944 (temporary); July 27, 1950 (permanent) |
 | Brigadier General, October 27, 1954 (temporary); May 16, 1960 (permanent) |
 | Major General, June 30, 1959 (temporary); January 30, 1962 (permanent) |
 | Lieutenant General, April 30, 1965 (retired February 1, 1970) |
 | General, December 9, 1998 (retired list) |
At the time of Davis's retirement, he held the rank oflieutenant general, but on December 9, 1998, PresidentBill Clinton awarded him afourth star, raising him to the rank of full general. After retirement, he headed the federalsky marshal program, and in 1971 was named Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Environment, Safety, and Consumer Affairs. Overseeing the development of airport security and highway safety, Davis was one of the chief proponents of the55 mile per hour speed limit enacted nationwide by the U.S. government in 1974 to save gasoline and lives. He retired from theDepartment of Transportation in 1975, and in 1978 served on theAmerican Battle Monuments Commission, on which his father had served decades before. In 1991, he published his autobiography,Benjamin O. Davis Jr.: American (Smithsonian Institution Press). He is a 1992 recipient of theLangley Gold Medal from theSmithsonian Institution.
His military decorations included:[17]
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| USAF Command Pilot | ||||||||||||
| Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with bronzeoak leaf cluster | ||||||||||||
| Army Distinguished Service Medal | Silver Star | Legion of Merit with two bronze oak leaf clusters | ||||||||||
| Distinguished Flying Cross | Meritorious Service Medal | Air Medal with four bronze oak leaf clusters | ||||||||||
| Air Force Commendation Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster | Army Commendation Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters | Air Force Presidential Unit Citation | ||||||||||
| American Defense Service Medal | American Campaign Medal | European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four bronzecampaign stars | ||||||||||
| World War II Victory Medal | National Defense Service Medal withservice star | Korean Service Medal | ||||||||||
| Vietnam Service Medal | Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver and bronze oak leaf clusters | French Croix de Guerre with Palm | ||||||||||
| Philippine Legion of Honor | Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of the Crown of Thailand | Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation | ||||||||||
| United Nations Korea Medal | Republic of Korea War Service Medal | Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal | ||||||||||
Davis's wife Agatha died on March 10, 2002. (Aged 94)[32] Davis, who had been suffering fromAlzheimer's disease, died at age 89 on July 4, 2002, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He was interred with Agatha on July 17, atArlington National Cemetery.[33] A Red Tail P-51 Mustang, similar to the one he had flown in World War II, flew overhead during his funeral service. Bill Clinton said, "General Davis is here today as proof that a person can overcome adversity and discrimination, achieve great things, turn skeptics into believers; and through example and perseverance, one person can bring truly amazing change".[34]
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