General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
General Benjamin
O. Davis, Jr. was the
first African American
USAF Pilot. He
was born December 18,
1912 in Washington,
DC, General Davis attended
West Point from
1932-1936 and graduated
35th out of 278 in
his Class. He was initially
denied from the
Army Air Corps (AAC)
due to there being no
black flying units, but
was then assigned to
the All-black 24th Infantry
Regiment and
became a combat instructor.
He was finally
assigned to flight training
in Tuskegee Army
Air Field (1942). General
Davis was only 1
of 5 African Americans
to finish the course and
the first Black Officer
to make a solo flight in
AAC Airplane. In July
1942, he was assigned
as Commander of the 99th Pursuit Squadron (Tuskegee Airmen) and
commanded the 332nd Fighter Group in WW2 (99th, 100th, 301st, 302nd
Fighter squadrons). General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. was promoted to
the rank of General by President Clinton on December 9th,
AIRPORT V 20 OICE, FEBRUARY 2021
Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen Led by C. Alfred
Anderson, who was known as
the "Father of Black Aviation," the
Tuskegee Airmen (active 1940-1948)
had a lot to prove to their country and
the rest of the world as the first Black
military pilots in the U.S. Armed
Forces. Subjected to discrimination
both on and off the battlefield, the
Tuskegee Airmen's service during
World War II was at a time when the
military was still segregated. Their
heroic missions — escorting heavy
bomber aircraft and conducting successful
Mae Carol Jemison
attack missions in 1945 —
earned them distinguished honors
and helped bring about the desegregation
of the military. In honor of
their lives and missions, a special
area with a model plane and an Airman
statue at the CUNY Aviation
Institute is named after them. The
name "Tuskegee" comes from Spanish
"Tasquiqui", which came from the
Muskogee word "Taskeke", a name
of a Creek settlement and meaning
"warriors. YouTube: https://youtu.
be/NysRVxwVwEo
Mae Carol Jemison
(born October 17,
1956) is an American
engineer, physician,
and former NASA astronaut
in 1992. She
became the first black
woman to travel into
space when she served
as a mission specialist
aboard the Space
Shuttle Endeavour. On
June 4, 1987, Jemison
became the first African
American woman
to be admitted into the
NASA astronaut training
program. After
leavingNASA formed
a non-profit educational
foundation and
through the foundation
is the principal
of the 100 Year Starship
project funded by
DARPA. Jemison also
wrote several books for
children.
She holds several
honorary doctorates
and has been inducted
into the National
Women's Hall of Fame
and the International
Space Hall of Fame.
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