Benjamin O. Davis Jr.:

Military Man Of Action

By JASON FRANTZ

ChildHood

One of the greatest African-American men in the U.S. military would certainly be Benjamin O. Davis (1912- ). He was born in Washington D.C. to a father in the army who always wanted his son to be the best. He and his two other sisters, Olivia and Lenora, spent time reading each night. Ben liked going to school, too. When he was just 14 in 1926, Charles Lindbergh made the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. He and his family listened to the flight reports every night on the radio.

Lindbergh's voyage made Ben want to fly.

HighSchool And The Academy

Benjamin was a hard worker in high school, thanks to his father's discipline. In fact, he worked so hard, he ended up at the top of his class. In '32, he went to the West Point Army Academy for college. He graduated there, but couldn't be a pilot because the military thought blacks couldn't fly fighters. Benjamin was as confused as any other black man as to why they couldn't fly airplanes. He was perfectly qualified, but the army stuck to their decision.

Military Service

However, in 1939 Adolf Hitler made a bid to control the world, and the U.S. was eager to get more pilots to fight against the evil Nazis. The government then selected a group of African-American men, Ben Davis being one, to undertake flight training in Tuskegee, Alabama to see if they could fly 'correctly'. They sure could, and the new squadron, or 'Tuskegee Airmen', were sent to Africa to fight in World War II with Benjamin O. Davis as their leader. As bomber escorts, the squad never lost a plane they were protecting, and the group had the highest reputation on both sides of the war. Ben continued as a military leader for many years after World War II, and it was all the result of hard work and trying the hardest.

That's the story of BENJAMIN O. DAVIS. For more

INFO,

check out these WebSites:

www.dot.state.mn.us/aeronautics/AVEDU/PUBLICATIONS/SK…/ben_o_davis.htm

http://129.48.28.13/museum/afp/davisbio.htm

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You can reach me at frantz@crosslink.net