Return to Great Warriors Leaders/Thinkers
Graduate of West Point who commanded the first black air unit. His distinguished Air Force career culminated in his appointment as the first black lieutenant general.
March 1998
Prepared by Diana Simpson
Bibliographer, Air University Library
Maxwell AFB, AL
Contents
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American Airpower Biography: Davis
National Archives and Records Administration: A People at War
Information on Gen. Davis and the 99th Pursuit Squadron.
Includes his 1943 report on discrimination, and a 1945 document
recommending him for the Distinguished Service Medal.
Please note: A call number beginning with "R" denotes a reference book.
Blacks in the United States Armed Forces:
Basic Documents, edited by Morris
J. MacGregor and Bernard C. Natty. Wilmington, DE, Scholarly Resources,
1977. 13 vols.
Volume 5: Negro Policy in the Air Force, pp 174+.
Volume 7: Col Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., pp 309-310.
Book call no.: 355.0973 B631
Current Biography. 1955.
New York, H.W. Wilson, 1955. 706 p.
Davis, Benjamin Oliver, Jr., pp 150-152.
Book call no.: R 920.02 c976 1955
Dabbs, Henry E. Black Brass: Black Generals
and Admirals in the Armed Forces of the United States.
Freehold, NJ, Afro-American Heritage House,
1983. 228 p.
Book call no.: R 923.573 D111f
Davis, Benjamin O. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr..
American: An Autobiography. Washington, Smithsonian
Institution Press, 1991. 442 p.
Book call no.: 92 D2614
Dictionary of American Military Biography.
Volume 1, edited by Roger J. Spiller
and others. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1984. 419 p.
Davis, Benjamin Oliver, Jr., pp 235-237.
Book call no.: R 923.573 D554 v.1
DuPre, Flint O. U.S. Air Force Biographical
Dictionary. New York, Franklin Watts, 1965. 273 p.
Davis, Benjamin Oliver, Jr., MajGen, p 52.
Book call no.: R 923.573 D942u
Francis, Charles E. The Tuskegee Airmen:
The Story of the Negro in the U.S. Air Force. Boston,Bruce.Humphries,
1955. 225 p.
Book call no.: 940.5412 F818t
Greene, Robert Ewell. Black Defenders of
America. 1775-1973. Chicago, Johnson Publishing, 1974. 416
p.
See index under Davis, Benjamin O., Jr.
Book call no.: R 355.0973 G799b
Gropman, Alan L. The Air Force Integrates,
1945-1964. Washington, Office of Air Force History,1978.
384 p.
See index under Davis, Benjamin O., Jr.
Book call no.: 358.33 A2987a
The Invisible Soldier: The Experience of
the Black Soldier. World War II, edited
by Mary Penick Motley. Detroit, Wayne
State University Press, 1975. 364 p.
See index under Davis, Jr., Capt Benjamin O.
Book call no.: 940.5403 M919i
Makers of the United States Air Force, edited
by John L. Frisbee. Washington, Office of Air Force History,
1987. 347 p. (USAF warrior studies)
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., pp 229-255 (Ch. 10).
Book call no.: 920.073 M218
Nalty, Bernard C. Strength For the Fight:
A History of Black Americans in the Military. New York, Free
Press, 1986. 424 p.
See index under Davis, Benjamin O., Jr.
Book call no.: 355.008996073 N173s
Osur, Alan M. Blacks in the Army Air Forces
During World War II: The Problem of Race Relations.
Washington, GPO, 1977. 227 p.
See index under Davis, Benjamin O., Jr.
Book call no.: 940.5403 085b
Rose, Robert A. Lonely Eagles: The Story
of America's Black Air Force in World War II. Los Angeles,
Tuskegee Airmen, 1980. 160p.
Book call no.: 358.5 R797
U.S. Dept of Defense. Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Equal Opportunity and Safety Policy. Black
Americans in Defense of Our Nation.
Washington, GPO, 1985. 189 p.
See pp 114-115 and 144.
Book call no.: 355.008996073 B627 1985
Webster's American Military Biographies.
Springfield, MA, G & C Merriam,
1978. 548 p.
Davis, Benjamin Oliver, Jr., p 94.
Book call no.: R 923.5 W385
Who's Who Among Black Americans. Northbrook,
IL, Who's Who Among Black Americans, Inc.,Pub. Co., 1988. 870
p.
Short biographical entry, p 174 (1988).
Book call no.: R 920.073 W6281 1988
Davis, Benjamin Oliver, Jr. (Col). National
Service in a Future War. Maxwell AFB, AL, Mar 1950,
23 p. (Air University (U.S.) Air War College.
Thesis)
Doc. call no.: M-U 32983 D261n
Davis, Benjamin O., Jr. Serving This Nation. Air Force Policy Letter for Commanders: Supplement No.1 :30-32 Jan '70.
Frisbee, John L. Out of the Wilderness. Air Force Magazine 68:121 Mar '85.
Gropman, Alan L. Against All Foes. Airman
29:44-48 Sep '85.
An excellent biography of Davis.
Gropman, Alan L. Benjamin Davis, American. Air Force Magazine 80:70-74 Aug '97
Lee, Irvin H. He Thinks Air Force. Aerospace Historian 16:6-8 Autumn '69.
Ninety-Ninth. Time 38:32+ Sep 15 '41.
Park, Edwards. Around the Mall and Beyond.
Smithsonian 21:18+ Mar '91.
About Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Poole, Roy A. Lieutenant General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Flying Safety 47:22-24 Nov '91
Rhodes, Phil. In Defense of Dignity (the all-black 99th Pursuit Squadron in WWII). Airman 35:28-29 Dec '91
Slavin, Peter. Internal Fires. Air Force Times 51:43+ May 20 '91.
Strother, Robert. The Cadet Who Refused to Quit. Reader's Digest 87:71-75 Sep '65.
Sturm, Ted R. The General Who Overcame. Airman 14:26-31 Mar '70.
African-American Heroes of World War II.
Los Angeles: OnDeck Home Entertainment, 1995. 46 minutes.
Video call no.: 940.5403 A258