Remarkable journey of Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the first African American general in the US Air Force. Davis graduated from from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1936. By 1941, he was in the Army Air Corps and was in the first training class of the Tuskegee Airmen. He flew several combat missions in World War II and Korea, before retiring as a 3-star general in 1970. | Mike Guardia - Author

Highlights: Cathedral at Ben Davis; February 20, 2026

Highlights: Ben Davis at Warren Central; December 19, 2025

During Black History Month, we honor the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and Ohio’s own Benjamin O. Davis Jr.: a trailblazer in American aviation and military history. In 1942, the first class of African-American pilots at Tuskegee Army Air Field completed their advanced training and earned their wings. Among them was Benjamin O. Davis Jr., who grew up in northeast Ohio. He would go on to fly with and ultimately command the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, known as the “Red Tails.” After World War II, t