Benjamin O. Davis Jr.

CTL-E-6213 · Person · aviator · 1912–2002

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07408 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-6213.

Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was a U.S. Air Force general who commanded the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. Born in Washington, D.C., on December 18, 1912, the son of Benjamin O. Davis Sr., he entered West Point in 1932 as its first Black cadet of the twentieth century, was shunned by classmates for four years, and graduated in 1936 in the top fifth of his class. Barred from flying units, he served in the infantry before earning his wings in March 1942 and taking command of the 99th Fighter Squadron, the first all-Black unit in the Army Air Forces, and then the 332nd Fighter Group in Italy. His airmen flew thousands of sorties and built the escort record that helped dismantle the case for a segregated military. Davis helped integrate the Air Force, became its first Black general after his success commanding an integrated fighter wing in Korea, retired in 1970, and was advanced to four-star general by President Bill Clinton in 1998. He died on July 4, 2002, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The record

• Also known as: Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr.

Notes

Staged 2026-10-16 under CTL-GOV-006 (Scan Tail Wave 6 — 747 Program, Wave 13; sixth Scan Tail packet at the founder’s 40-record size). Gate A (2026-10-16): Gate A CLEAR (script + hand-checked 2026-10-16): no Benjamin O. Davis Jr. entity, alias, or variant in the live graph (3,910 entities). ID CTL-E-6213 free at staging. Supply: 747 Supply Ledger — scan string #2359 (corpus-gap-candidates-2026-10-15.json), banked in the Scan Tail Wave 5 reserve (Appendix E), re-screened CLEAR against the live graph at 3,910 entities by this wave. The supply supplied the name only; every fact is sourced under CTL-GOV-004. SCOPE GATE: Commander of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Air Force's first Black general; his West Point appointment came from Rep. Oscar S. De Priest of Chicago, the only Black congressman of the era — a Black Chicago link noted by the Army museum source — and his record anchors CTL's military-integration history. Vital status: DECEASED — born December 18, 1912, in Washington, D.C.; died July 4, 2002, at 89, buried at Arlington National Cemetery (both opened sources agree). STATISTICS — West Point class of 1936, 35th of 276 (BlackPast.org); Army museum says top 20 percent of his class — consistent, shown as both phrasings. Tuskegee Airmen under his command: 15,000 sorties and 111 enemy planes shot down (BlackPast.org); Army museum states they never lost a bomber on an escort mission, while BlackPast phrases it as no escorted bomber lost in the group's 200 missions — consistent in substance, wording shown. Promoted to lieutenant general in May 1965 (BlackPast.org); advanced to four-star general in 1998 (both sources). CONFLICT SHOWN: one unopened search-result source gave his birth date as December 12, 1912; both opened sources give December 18, 1912, which is carried here. MEDIA: photo HELD (The U.S. Air Force photograph of Davis in uniform circa 1965 shown on the National Museum of the U.S. Army page is a plausible candidate; no license is claimed and a file-level PHOTO-001 record is required.); chart FILLED (charts/chart-ctl-e-6213-benjamin-o-davis-jr.svg); video HELD (no matching-entity CTL Short found; near-miss: Short #66 'Miles Davis — Kind of Blue (1959)' and #185 'Angela Davis — Fired, Tried, and Acquitted' share the Davis surname for different people.); audio HELD (no rights-cleared matching-entity audio staged); map N/A. MEDIA LAYER (staged 2026-10-16; full per-asset PHOTO-001 records + embed specs in the packet's staged JSON, Drive packet folder): map = N/A (Person records carry no map slot; maps attach to places and institutions.) | visual_assets = HELD: | chart = FILLED (CTL-created chart (black / deep red / gold) built only from this record’s sourced statistics and timeline fact) | video = HELD (no matching-entity CTL Short found; near-miss: Short #66 'Miles Davis — Kind of Blue (1959)' and #185 'Angela ) | audio = HELD (HELD: No CTL-owned or rights-cleared matching-entity audio exists at staging.)

Relationships

• Tuskegee University — affiliated with
  Davis trained reserve officers at Tuskegee Institute and the Black flying program was based at Tuskegee, Alabama.

Sources

• National Museum of the United States Army — Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (accessed 2026-10-16) — Birth December 18, 1912, in Washington, D.C.; West Point entry 1932, isolation, and 1936 graduation; wings in March 1942; command of the 99th and the 332nd; Tuskegee Airmen escort record; role in Air Force integration; first Black Air Force general after Korea; retirement 1970; four-star advancement in 1998; death July 4, 2002, and Arlington burial. — https://www.thenmusa.org/biographies/benjamin-o-davis-jr/ (primary source · build store)
• BlackPast.org — Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (1912–2002) (accessed 2026-10-16) — West Point graduation 35th of 276 in 1936; command of the 99th Pursuit Squadron and 332nd Fighter Group; unit record of 15,000 sorties, 111 enemy planes shot down, and no escorted bomber lost in 200 missions; Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross; 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing command in Korea; lieutenant general in May 1965; retirement in 1970 after 37 years; fourth star in 1998; death July 4, 2002, at 89, and Arlington interment. — https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/davis-jr-benjamin-o-1918-2002/ (build store)

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Record CTL-E-6213 · Combined Graph record U-07408 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 2 sources · 1 mapped relationship.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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