When President McKinley turned down Benjamin Oliver Davis for a place at West Point due to the colour of his skin, Davis joined the army as a private. Davis soon worked his way through the ranks to receive his second lieutenant commission in 1901. It would be over 30 years before another black officer would receive his commission, and that would be Benjamin Oliver Davis's son, Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr.
In theory, black troops would be barred from combat, but Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. would lead the first Black flying squadron, the Tuskegee Airmen, to success during WWII.
For this episode, I'm joined by Doug Melville, a direct relative of Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. and Sr.
When George Lucas's film 'Red Tails' (2012), celebrating the Tuskegee Airmen, was released, Doug was shocked when he realised that Ben Jr.’s name had been omitted and replaced by the fictional Colonel A. J. Bullard. And Ben’s father, Benjamin O. Davis Sr., America’s first Black general who helped integrate the military, was left out too. The film inspired him to rediscover his family’s story, which spans five generations, and write Invisible Generals: Rediscovering Family Legacy, and a Quest to Honor America's First Black Generals.
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85 - Alarmstart East
84 - Shot Down
83 - Operation Crossbow
82 US Navy vs IJN Fleet Submarine, 1941-42
81 - Britain's Blockade of Europe & the response of the ICRC
80 - The Italian Army In North Africa
Last Man Standing: Geoffrey Rothwell
79 - The Forgotten Dead: Exercise Tiger
78 - Bones of My Grandfather
Hitler's Vikings
76 - RAF Flight Engineers
75 - The Rise of Hitler and National Socialism
74 - The M3 'Grant' Tank
73 - Ghost Riders: Operation Cowboy
72 - Mediterranean Strategy
USS Indianapolis
70 - Aerial Warfare
69 Interwar International Naval Policy
68 Go Betweens for Hitler
67 - Luftwaffe Night Fighter ‘Ace’, Wolfgang Thimmig
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