Existing comment:
The Right Man:
It would be difficult to imagine a single individual better suited to meet the challenges of leading the nation's first African-American combat aviators than Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. A 1936 graduate of West Point, Davis seemed to have been uniquely prepared for the role he would play. He was the son of a career army officer and he developed an interest in aviation as a teenager. His father's postings, particularly those in the Jim Crow South, had made him acutely aware of the prevalent racial attitudes. He would be further toughened by his experiences at West Point where he endured the "Silence." The "Silence" was a form of isolation which forbade cadets from having any social interaction other than official business with the "Silenced" cadet. After graduating from West Point, Davis was commissioned as an infantry officer. His requests for an aviation assignment were denied because blacks were not assigned to aviation units. After the War Department yielded to pressure to establish black aviation units, Davis would get his chance. After completing initial flight training as a member of the first class in the Tuskegee Project, Davis became commander of the 99th FS.
He commanded the unit from that time through the initial phases of its deployment to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), then returned to the United States to assume command of the 332nd Fighter Group (FG) in October 1943. The 332nd FG consisted of three newly trained African-American squadrons (the 100th FS, 301st FS, and the 302nd FS) and joined the 99th FS in the MTO in February 1944. In early 1944, the 99th FS was officially transferred to the 332nd FG -- effectively making Davis the commander of all African-American fighter squadrons in the European Theater of Operations. Under his command, the 99th FS and then the 332nd FG became effective combat units. He clearly imprinted upon the organizations he commanded a sense of discipline and determination to succeed. The 99th FS and the 332nd FG destroyed over 110 enemy aircraft, earned 3 distinguished Unit Citation, 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses and numerous other decorations. Perhaps more importantly, under his leadership the fist units of black aviators in the Armed Forces of the United States would endure the challenges of a military system that treated them as less than equal and would disprove many commonly-held beliefs about the abilities of African-Americans. |