|
|
|
Biography Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was born Dec. 18, 1912 in Washington, DC. He was the son of Benjamin O.Davis Sr., who was only 1 of 2 black combat officers in the U.S. Army. Mr. Davis Sr.'s career was badly stunted by segregation. He opposed the practice as not only harmful to black soldiers, but also wasteful to the country. Young Ben Davis grew up inside his father's profession. He despised segregation and was determined to destroy it. In many ways he did just that. He performed so well, and lead so effectively that arguments used to prop up segregation in the Air Force were fatally undermined. He became the first African American Air Force officer to achieve the rank of General, retiring as Lieutenant General in 1970. Ben Jr. wanted to fly. To fulfill that ambition he set his sights on the U.S. Military Academy. He earned an appointment in 1932 from Rep. Oscar De Priest (R.IL), the only black Congressman at that time. Davis believed his classmates would accept him based on his character and not reject him on his race. He was wrong about that. For four years he was shunned, other cadets would only speak to him for official reasons. He had no roommate, and took his meals in silence. Those who caused this had hoped to drive Davis from the Academy, but their actions only made him more determined to succeed. He graduated 35th out of a total of 276 in the Class of 1936. Davis was sure he'd be given the opportunity to fly because he was academically and physically qualified, but it wasn't to be....not then at least. He was turned down for flight training because there were no black units in the air service, therefore he couldn't be accepted, despite his qualifications. Segregation was the barrier. Davis's first assignment was to Ft. Benning, GA., where he commanded the black service company. After a year, he was appointed to the Infantry School. In the 2 years Davis served at Ft. Benning, the 9 Academy classmates also assigned there only talked to him in the line of duty. When Davis graduated from Infantry School, he was qualified to be in an Infantry unit, but was sent instead to be a Reserve Officers Training Corps Instructor at Tuskegee Institute, replacing a sergeant. Davis was serving at the Tuskegee Institute in 1940 during the second reelection campaign of President Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt was determined to hold onto every group that had supported him in his previous victories, especially the black vote. To solidify his African American support, he promoted Benjamin O. Davis Sr. to Brigadier General and ordered the Army Air Corps to create a black flying organization. The Air Corps wanted a black Academy graduate to command the first unit. Benjamin Davis Jr. was the only living West Point graduate and was ordered to begin training at Tuskegee AAF, Alabama. He clearly saw the opportunity to undermine segregation. On March 7, 1942, Davis pinned on the silver wings of Army Air Force pilots along with 4 other black officers. In time, they were joined by almost 1,000 Tuskegee Airmen. In the spring of 1943, Davis and the 99th Fighter Squadron (first established as the 99th Pursuit Squadron), departed for North Africa to join the fight against the Axis. The Tuskegee Airmen carried with them the usual burdens borne by men about to enter combat but also the certain knowledge that upon their inexperienced shoulders rest the future of black Americans in aviation. The 99th was attached for operation to the 33rd Fighter Group in Tunisia. On June 2, 1943, the 99th, led by Davis, flew its first mission, attacking troops on Pantelleria island, and enemy position between North Africa and Sicily. About 90 days later, after the squadron had flown many combat missions under Davis's leadership, the 33rd Group commander accused the Tuskegee Airmen of not having the same desire to fight as white pilots. He recommended removing the Tuskegee Airmen from combat. The General who reviewed the report endorsed it and commented that "the Negro type has not the proper reflexes to make a first-class fighter pilot." By the time this proposal surfaced in Washington, other black flying organizations were being created, among them the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group. However, Gen. George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the Army, decided to study the issue, assigning review of the 99th to the War Department's permanent Advisory Committee on Negro Troop Policies. The Committee, led by John J. McCloy, called Davis to testify. Davis said that on June 9, 1943, during one of its first missions, the 99th formation disintegrated when it was struck by a German fighter force twice its size. The Germans surprised the Americans by attacking from above and out of the sun. Nobody, Davis argued, could cite another example of a Tuskegeee Airmen formation crumbling, and in this single case, the men did not flee the battle but fought it out man-to-man against superior German aircraft. Davis maintained, moreover, that his men were as eager for combat as white pilots, flying more often because his squadron was undermanned and replacements were short. Sometimes his men flew 6 combat missions a day, compared to 2-3 a day for white pilots. Davis's testimony carried the day. The Advisory Committee recommended....and Marshall agreed....that the 99th shouldn't be pulled from combat, the 332nd Fighter Group should be moved overseas when trained, and the 477th Bombardment Group should be formed. It was a wise decision, in the next 18 months the Tuskegee Airmen wrote an impressive record. In Jan. of 1944, the 332nd, equipped with P-39 Air cobras, began arriving in southern Italy. At the same time, the 99th, now commanded by Maj. George S. (Spanky) Roberts, was flying missions in support of the Anzio landings. On the morning of Jan. 27th, 15 Tuskegee Airmen Curtis P-40's met a larger number of German FW-190 fighters, shooting down 6 and damaging 4 others, a remarkable performance considering the mismatch in aircraft. That afternoon, the Tuskegee Airmen shot down 3 more Germans. On Jan. 28th the black American pilots destroyed 4 German aircraft, and between Feb. 5th and Feb.10, another 4 planes were downed by the Tuskegee Airmen. In that 2 week stretch the Tuskegee Airmen achieved a 7 to 1 ratio of victories to losses. In June, the 99th Fighter Squadron joined the 332nd, now equipped with P-47's, and a month later the 332nd the P-51. Davis led the first escort mission, protecting B-24's bombing targets around Munich.. That day, 39 B-47's held off more that 100 German Fighters. At one point Davis personally led a flight of 8 P-47's attacking 18 BF-109's, scattering the Germans and shooting down several. During that mission the Tuskegee Airmen shot down 5 fighters, and damaged another one. Perhaps the most spectacular mission flown by the 332nd was its mission on March 24, 1945, when Davis led the 332nd on a 1,600 mile round trip escort mission to Berlin. On that day, the Tuskegee Airmen met numerous FW-190's and at least 3 of the new German Me-262 jet aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen shot down 3 of the jets and damaged another 6 of the fighters. One of the Tuskegee Airmen was lost in this mission, but none of the bombers were missing, despite the fact that the Germans threw their latest and fastest fighters against the Americans. Prior to March 24, only 2 jets had been shot down by any Allied airmen, and on that day the 3rd, 4th, and 5th were destroyed by Tuskegee Airmen. How good were they? Davis and his men had destroyed far more aircraft than they lost - shooting down 111 enemy aircraft and destroying 150 on the ground, while losing 66 aircraft to all causes in the U.S. and combat zones. The Tuskegee Airmen had also shattered or disabled more than 600 boxcars and other rolling stock. They had sunk 1 destroyer ( a unique achievement) and more than 40 other boats and barges. Most importantly, the Tuskegee Airmen had not lost a bomber to an enemy fighter during 200 escort missions, totaling about 10,000 sorties into some of the Third Reich's most heavily defended areas. It was a tribute to their skill, and Davis's leadership. Davis returned to the U. S. in April of 1945, gaining command of the 477th Composite Group at Goodman Field, KY. He moved the 477th to Lockbourne AAB, Ohio, in 1946. He overcame local bigotry through his professionalism, and by the time the Army integrated in May of 1949, his base had become a treasured part of the community. In addition to commanding the flying unit at Lockbourne, Davis also served as a base commander. Probably the most important aspect of his command was his relationship with whites on the base. Davis supported the Air National Guard Fighter wing, a troop carrier squadron, and several other all-white Air Corps organizations, and the record show only harmonious relations between the Tuskegee Airmen and their tenants. When the Air Force separated from the Army in September 1947, Lt. Gen. Idwal H. Edwards, Deputy Chief of Staff, Personnel, directed a study of USAF racial segregation. He was aware of the unique success of the 332nd during the war and its professional service after the war. Edwards recommended racial integration and convinced the Chief of Staff that such a reform would make a better Air Force. His principal argument was that Davis and the Tuskegee Airmen had proved in war and peace that blacks could perform all jobs as well as whites. That fact alone was enough to undermine segregation, and the Air Force in 1949, became the first of the U.S. armed forces to integrate. In the summer of 1949 Davis attended the Air War College, a key assignment because promotion beyond Colonel depended upon attending war college. No black soldier, in any part of the service, had ever attended the War College before, segregation had barred such attendance. Davis excelled, despite the fact that the War Coolege was located on a base in Montgomery, AL, an area hostile to African Americans who aspired to rise economically or professionally. The best restaurants, hotels, and housing in the city were closed to Davis and his wife Aggie. He and Mrs. Davis could anger the bigots in Montgomery by just driving down the street in their late-model automobile. Davis detested this treatment but tolerated it in order to graduate from the Air War College. Like many in his Class of 1950, he moved from the Air War College to the Pentagon, where he served at USAF Headquarters. Soon after arriving in Washington, Davis was made Chief of the Air Defense Branch of Air Force operations, a prestigious position in which he supervised white officers and enlisted men. Davis was so successful in his Pentagon position that in 1953, while the Korean War was in full swing, the Air Force assigned him to take command of the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, Suwon AB, South Korea. Davis thrived in this position, supervising a wing of thousands of airmen, most of them white. The Air Force learned that white airmen and officers could work loyally for a black commander. Having again demonstrated his skills as a commander, Davis was transferred to Japan, where he was appointed Director of Operations and Training in Far East Air Forces. Three months later he was promoted to Brigadier General, the first black officer in the Air Force to achieve that rank.
|
|
Copyright © 2007, 2008 WWII Remembered, All Rights Reserved
|
