Page 3 - Black History Month 2021 - Combined Special Edition of Luke AFB Thunderbolt Davis-Monthan AFB Desert Lightning News

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Academy names airfield in honor of first Black Air Force general

join the Army Air Corps but was re-
jected because segregationist policies
of the time designated the Air Corps
as whites-only. Instead, he graduated
in June 1936 with a commission as a
second lieutenant of infantry. His first
assignment was to the all-Black 24th
by than an equal. Correcting that injustice Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning,
TERRANCE BELL was nearly equal to fighting — and Georgia.
perhaps dying — for his rights and In early 1941, the War Department
U.S. Army Garrison Fort Lee Public Affairs
those of others at home. In that regard, began training Black pilots at the
Civil rights activist Medgar Wiley he walked valiantly into the teeth of Tuskegee Airfield in Tuskegee, Ala-
Evers was well-known for his high en- battle, grappling with voting rights bama. By then a captain, Davis was
ergy, sobriety and tenacity. He would not and championing integration, while part of the first graduating class of
spare a minute in pursuing equality — supporting a long list of other issues in five pilots.
not when Black people in segregationist a state where more than 600 lynchings In July 1942, now a lieutenant
Mississippi were being murdered, beaten had occurred from 1877-1950, accord- colonel, he took command of the 99th
and degraded as human beings. ing to the Equal Justice Initiative. Pursuit Squadron — the Army Air
Evers was on the literal front lines of Defiant in the face of a terrifying Forces’ first all-Black aviation unit.
the battle, not some location up north reality, Evers still went about his courtesy photo By the summer of 1943, the unit was mike Kaplan
where a declaration to fight for civil business to rid Mississippi of its mis- Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. in North Africa flying combat missions. T-52A and T-41D Mescalero aircraft line up before takeoff at the U.S. Air
rights in the 1940s-‘50s was relatively deeds. He was one of the first Blacks That fall, Davis was called back to Force Academy airfield in Colorado Springs, Colorado, April 15, 2010.
harmless. In the Deep South, poverty appearing on TV in the state, exposing Tuskegee to take command of a new
had overshadowed the slaveholder cotton himself to the many who saw no worth by unit, the 332nd Fighter Squadron,
wealth generated in the mid-1800s. The in his next breath, much less his work CLAUDETTE ROULO where he found out that the Army was
Civil War remained a point of contention. to change life as they knew it. Con- DoD News considering stopping Black pilots from
Confederate loyalties ran deep, and a versely, Evers did not expect anyone flying in combat. He defended his men
decision to join the struggle was an ac- to hand him what he felt he was owed, The U.S. Air Force Academy named in a news conference at the Pentagon.
ceptance of potential danger and maybe and he knew his decision to fight came its airfield in honor of Air Force Gen. “All the Blacks in the segregated
even death. with consequences, said Myrlie Evers- Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the service’s forces operated like they had to prove
Evidence of Mississippi’s subjugated Williams, Medgar’s widow. first Black general and the commander they could fly an airplane when every-
racial climate had been within Evers’ “We both knew he was going to die,” of the Tuskegee Airmen in Africa and one believed they were too stupid,” he
sightlines since childhood. The Decatur, she told Esquire magazine. Europe. wrote in his autobiography, “Benjamin
Miss., native remembered walking miles Evers expressed his resignation this The project to name the previously O. Davis Jr.: American.”
to school with others of his ethnicity way: “Freedom has never been free. ... unnamed airfield was “an incredible Army Chief of Staff Gen. George
while white kids riding school buses I love my children, and I love my wife journey,” Air Force Academy Superin- Marshall ordered an investigation,
yelled epithets at them. He had seen the with all my heart. And I would die, die tendent Lt. Gen. Jay B. Silveria said at and Davis spoke to the investigating
horrific aftermath of a family acquain- gladly, if that would make a better life the naming ceremony. committee, which found essentially
tance being killed for a social infraction. for them,” he said on June 7, 1963. Davis was “instrumental in driving no difference in performance between
“I remember the Saturday night a Five days later, the 37-year-old had this institution towards a much more Black and white units.
bunch of white men beat him to death be- returned home after a long meeting diverse and a much more inclusive By then, though, Davis was already
cause he sassed back to a white woman,” at a Jackson, Miss., church. As he left population, reducing attrition rates of back in the fight in the skies over Italy.
read an Evers’ recounting of the incident the car and began walking toward the minorities, and crucial in developing The men under his command flew more
that appeared in the book “The Martyrs: kitchen entrance, he was felled by a the plan to integrate women at the than 15,000 sorties, downed 112 enemy
Sixteen Who Gave Their Lives for Racial bullet from a high-powered rifle. It was United States Air Force Academy,” planes, and destroyed or damaged 273
Justice,” written by Jack Mendelsohn. courtesy photo around 12:20 a.m. Silveria said. on the ground. His units lost just 66 of
“They just left him for dead on the Medgar Wiley Evers (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963) was an African American His murder fueled passage of the The son of Army Gen. Benjamin O. their planes and only about 25 of the
ground. Everyone in town knew about it, civil rights activist and World War II veteran. Civil Rights Bill of 1964, the landmark Davis Sr., the Army’s first Black gen- bombers under their escort. courtesy photo
but never said a word in public. I went federal legislation that provides for the eral, Davis entered the U.S. Military Davis led dozens of missions in P-47 The first five fighter pilots graduated
down and saw his bloody clothes. They rights of all people. Academy at West Point, New York, in Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs. He from the Tuskegee program on March
left those clothes on a fence for about a the confidence that had been forged by “They would ask him, ‘Mr. Evers, why Evers’ work as a civil rights advo- July 1932. Upon his graduation, the received the Silver Star for a strafing 7, 1942. From left to right are: instruc-
year. Every Negro in town was supposed their individual and collective contribu- are you doing this?’” recalled Watson, cate is extensive. He investigated the Army had two Black infantry officers run into Austria and the Distinguished tor R.M. Long, George Roberts, Ben-
to get the message from those clothes.” tions to the war. who met Evers when she was a college murder of 14-year old Emmett Till and — Davis and his father. Flying Cross for a bomber escort mis- jamin O. Davis Jr., Charles DeBow,
How that incident influenced Evers’ Evers, having supported the famed freshman. “He would say, ‘Somebody many other suspicious deaths. He led He faced racism throughout his mili- sion to Munich on June 9, 1944. Mac Ross, and Lemuel Curtis.
desire to fight for civil rights is uncertain. Red Ball Express logistical effort in the has to do it. It’s on my shoulders … boycotts and rallies and tackled segre- tary career. Davis’ obituary in the New He would go on to serve in several
Another conjecture is that it was pre- European Theater, was transformed You’ve got to speak up. These things gationist issues one by one. He doubled York Times noted: “He was ostracized commands, in Europe and the United Army Air Forces Col. Benjamin O.
cipitated by his military service in World by his time in uniform. The Army was are not going to come easy.’” the NAACP’s youth membership in a at West Point and then was barred from States, before the end of the war. In Davis Jr., commander of the 332nd
War II. Enlisting was an opportunity for segregated, which certainly harkened Despite the unfathomable degree of few years. He helped James Meredith commanding white troops and turned 1947, Davis transferred to the newly
Black men and women to prove their back to his life in Mississippi, but he difficulty in making change in Ol’ Di- become the first Black man to attend away from segregated officers’ clubs in Fighter Group, stands in front of his
courage and competency, and therefore, nevertheless saw his service as a down xie, Evers was committed to fulfilling the University of Mississippi, years the war years.” P-51D Mustang in Ramitelli, Italy, in
March 1945.
their worthiness as Americans. When payment toward full citizenship. He his role. In 1946, he and his brother after his own application was rejected. While a cadet, Davis had sought to See airfielD, Page 10 courtesy photo
they went abroad, they were enlightened felt he had earned the right to demand Charles, who also served during the And the list goes on.
by the absence of Jim Crow, and Europe’s change for better. He began to attach war, led a group of African-American Former Sgt. Medgar Wiley Evers is
comparative acceptance garnered much himself to civil rights causes not long veterans to the Decatur City Hall to buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
thought, consideration and hope. after returning home. register to vote. When they showed up The words of his widow at a 2003 cer-
Furthermore, new job and organiza- Minnie Watson, a retired tour guide on Election Day to cast ballots, they emony marking the 40th anniversary Published by Aerotech News and Review, Inc. • 877- 247-9288 • www.aerotechnews.com
tional skills — along with contributing to at the Medgar Evers Home Museum were turned back by a white mob. of his assassination could not have Aerotech News and Review prepares all editorial content for Desert Information Service, Air Force News Service, Air Combat Command, tents of Desert Lightning News and the Thunderbolt are not necessarily
the Allied victory — had an encouraging in Jackson, Miss., said people always Evers marched on, perhaps driven been more perfectly chosen. “The ‘Taps’ JOURNAL OF AEROSPACE, DEFENSE INDUSTRY AND VETERANS NEWS Lightning News and the Thunderbolt. The editor will edit or rewrite Air Education and Training Command, staff writers and other sources. the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, Department
and emboldening effect on African-Amer- questioned why Evers would commit by the same sense of duty he felt in played with a final salute,” she said. “It submitted material for clarity, brevity or to conform to the Associated All advertising is handled by Aerotech News and Review, 220 E. Ave. of Defense or the Department of the Air Force. The appearance of ad-
ican military members. Many returned to the daunting and dangerous task of uniform. He had risked his life for a felt as if we were truly being treated as Publisher .............................................. Paul Kinison Press Style Guide, local policy and Air Force style as required by Air K4, Suite 7, Lancaster, CA 93535. For business advertising, call 877-247- vertising in these publications, including inserts or supplements, does
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to U.S. shores with swelled chests and disrupting Southern convention. country that was treating him less Americans.” Business manager ...............................Lisa Kinison the Thunderbolt can be emailed to the editor at amy@aerotechnews. fied advertising, email classifieds@aerotechnews.com. the DLN, Thunderbolt, DOD, Air Force or Aerotech News and Review.
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