America's First Black General; Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. 1880-1970

xix, [1], 226, [2] pages. "With the compliments of" card laid in. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. DJ has some wear, soiling, edge tears and chips. Sticker residue on front flap. Some edge soiling. Foreword by General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Professor Marvin Fletcher has supervised M.A. theses and Ph.D. dissertations in both African American and U.S. Military History, the most recent being (2009) Jeff Reardon's "Evolution of the U.S. Navy into an effective night fighting force in the Solomon Islands, 1942-43." Fletcher has published several books in African American military history including Negro Soldiers and Officers in the United States Army, 1891-1917 and America's First Black General: Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., 1880-1970. He has also done an annotated bibliography of the peacetime U.S. Army between 1900 and 1940. He has published articles and reviews in both of his fields. He also has researched a history of the Gold Star Mothers pilgrimage, 1929-1933. He also participated in a television documentary on this subject. Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr. (1880 - November 26, 1970) was a United States Army officer. He was the first African-American to rise to the rank of general in the U.S. military. He was the father of Air Force General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. After graduating from high school, in response to the start of the Spanish-American War, Davis entered the military service on July 13, 1898, as a temporary first lieutenant in the 8th United States Volunteer Infantry, an all-black unit. Davis was mustered out on March 6, 1899, and on June 18, 1899, he enlisted as a private in Troop I, 9th Cavalry Regiment (one of the original Buffalo Soldier regiments), of the Regular Army. Davis was assigned to the Tuskegee University, Alabama, as the professor of military science and tactics from 1920 to 1924. He then served for five years as an instructor with 2nd Battalion, 372nd Regiment, Ohio National Guard, in Cleveland, Ohio. In September 1929, Davis returned to Wilberforce University as professor of military science and tactics. He was assigned to the Tuskegee Institute in the early part of 1931, and remained there for six years as professor of military science and tactics. During the summer months of 1930 to 1933, Davis escorted pilgrimages of World War I Gold Star mothers and widows to the burial places of their loved ones in Europe. In August 1937, Davis returned to Wilberforce University as professor of military science and tactics. Davis was assigned to the 369th Regiment, New York National Guard, during the summer of 1938, and took command of the regiment a short time later. Davis was promoted to brigadier general on October 25, 1940, becoming the first African-American general in the United States Army. Davis became commanding general of 4th Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas, in January 1941. About six months later, he was assigned to Washington, D.C. as an assistant in the Office of the Inspector General. While serving in the Office of the Inspector General, Davis also served on the Advisory Committee on Negro Troop Policies. From 1941 to 1944, Davis conducted inspection tours of African-American soldiers in the United States Army. From September to November 1942 and again from July to November 1944, Davis made inspection tours of African-American soldiers stationed in Europe. On November 10, 1944, Davis was reassigned to work under Lieutenant General John C. H. Lee as special assistant to the commanding general, Communications Zone, European Theater of Operations. He served with the General Inspectorate Section, European Theater of Operation (later the Office of the Inspector General on Europe) from January through May 1945. While serving in the European Theater of Operations, Davis was influential in the proposed policy of integration using replacement units. After serving in the European Theater of Operations for more than a year, Davis returned to Washington, D.C. as assistant to the inspector gener.…