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Ben Davis
| General Ben Davis (deceased) Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr was born in Washington, D.C. on December 18, 1912. A Westpointer, Ben Davis completed over 60 missions with both the 12th and 15th Air Forces. He flew P-40s, P-39s, P-47s and P-51s, all in combat. Davis himself led dozens of missions in P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs. He received the Silver Star for a strafing run into Austria and the Distinguished Flying Cross for a bomber-escort mission to Munich on June 9th, 1944. He saw action in North Africa and later in Sicily. After a brief spell commanding 332nd Fighter Group back in the U.S. he returned to the action to fly combat in Italy, remaining with the 15th Air Force until the end of the war. Davis served at the Pentagon and in overseas posts over the next two decades. He again saw combat in 1953 when he assumed command of the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing (51 FIW) and flew an F-86 Sabre in Korea. He retired, highly decorated, a Lt. General. Davis was the first African-American general in the United States Air Force. Davis, was later advanced to four-star general, on December 9, 1998, by the President. Sadly General Ben Davis passed away on the 4th of July, 2002. |
