Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. And Benjamin O Davis, Jr.: A Family of Distinction

There is a name that is shared by two great men in our American military history, the name of Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. and Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Against great odds, odds that were rooted in this country’s history from its inception to the present, this father and son achieved a level of success and achievement that are second to none in both American history in general and in American military history.

Service to the nation was a part of this family’s make-up. Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. was born in Washington, D.C., and when the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, though underage, he enlisted as a private in the Army and served with the segregated 9th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers) in Cuba. He rose to sergeant major within two years. He earned a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in 1901.

Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. would go on to serve in Liberia and the Philippines and later taught military science at the Tuskegee Institute and Wilberforce University. He would become the first African American to reach the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army in 1930. Then, in 1940, he was promoted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the rank of brigadier general. He was the first African American to achieve that rank in the U.S. Army.

Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. commanded the 2nd Cavalry Division in 1941 and was assigned to the office of Inspector General of the Army. During WWII, he headed a unit in charge of safeguarding the status and morale of Black soldiers in the Army and served in the European Theater as a special adviser on race relations. Davis Sr. would retire after 50 years of service in 1948.

Davis Sr’s son, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr’s story is demonstrative of the difficulties confronted by African Americans in America in the first half of the 20th century. Davis Jr. received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1932.

As the only Black cadet during his time there, and because of the realities of segregation, he would be utterly alone. He would never have a roommate, and no one talked to him much. He had to study alone without support, eat alone, and endure all of the indignities that segregation brought upon a black man in this country at that time. Despite all of this, he graduated 35th out of 276 in his class. In doing so, he became only the 4th African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy.

Davis Jr. learned that, in order for him to achieve and succeed, it would take a combination of hard work and dedication, and he would have to do everything with near perfection. He learned and practiced those lessons well. He was a natural leader. And when he became one during WWII, he was known for not tolerating mistakes or unacceptable behavior. This made those under him better too.

Davis Jr. wanted to fly planes. During WWII, while his father, now a general, was doing everything he could to lead the military into desegregating the services, Davis Jr. would not only fly P-51 fighter planes, but, in 1942, he would be put in command of the 99th Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group, both from the famous segregated Tuskegee Airmen “Red Tails.”

After WWII, Davis, Jr. would stay in and would be on the cutting edge of integrating the newly formed United States Air Force. He would command the 13th Air Force, as the first African American to command that size of a unit. He would retire in 1970 and would go to work with the U.S. Department of Transportation for 20 years. In his retirement, President Bill Clinton would promote Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. to the rank of a four-star general, making him the first African American to reach that rank.

To give some perspective to the depth of Davis Jr’s. character, his son remarked in an interview when asked what his father would want to be remembered for that his dad, “wanted to be remembered for his merit rather than for his color.”

Both Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. and Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. achieved recognizable success and honored rank and respect, not because they were Black, but because they were the best men for the jobs they held. They truly were men of integrity, who worked hard against great odds, who were dedicated to the duties and responsibilities they were given, and who conducted themselves with near perfection.

Their merit is the true marker of who they were. That they were the first African Americans to reach the ranks they held was an accident of history. It was their merit, their personal integrity, their dedication to duty in military service and in civilian life, that reveals what is most important in the character of any human being. We thank God that such men walked among us.