S1: Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman , a local author shares his family's triumphant story of the invisible generals and their role in getting the Tuskegee Airmen off the ground. This is Midday Edition , connecting our communities through conversation. You're listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. A new book honors the forgotten legacy of the first two black generals in the United States , who happened to be father and son. The book documents their incredible journey through a segregated military and how they each fought through challenges along their individual journeys. But it's also a family story , and the book's author is part of that family. Doug Melville penned Invisible Generals Rediscovering Family Legacy and a quest to Honor America's first Black Generals. He is the great grandson of Benjamin Davis , senior and nephew of Benjamin Davis Jr , who's at the center of the book. Doug , welcome to Midday Edition.
S2: Thank you so much for having me today.
S1: So glad you're here. So , Doug , you were inspired to write this book after the 2011 movie Red tails , based on the Tuskegee Airmen. Tell me more about that. Yes.
S2: Yes. So I was invited to a screening of the movie Red tails , and other members of the families of Tuskegee Airmen were invited as well. And when the movie started and the rumble of the jets took over and engulfed everyone in the theater , I was expecting to see General Benjamin Davis , who was the patriarch and center of our family , be introduced as the commander of the Red tails. And when Terrence Howard , who was playing his character , walked on screen , he looked just like Ben. He sounded just like Ben. But when he was addressed , his name was different , and he was addressed as Colonel Bullard. And I looked around the theater , and I wondered how many people knew that his real name wasn't being used. And I got really upset about it. And I went home and I asked my and I shared the story with my dad , and my dad said , Doug , if you think changing his name in a movie is an injustice , let me tell you the story of Ben and his father , who raised me and the family. The story is known as the Invisible Generals , and he shared with me the father and son story of Ben and his dad and what they went through. And when I heard all of that , I said to myself , someone has to tell this story , and I want that someone to be me.
S1: Yeah , well , I want to get into the story of your great grandfather and start by asking you. I mean , the military did not integrate until after World War 2 in 1948. I don't think a lot of people have a concept of sort of what that meant. Exactly. So. So can you tell me what the military looked like when your grandfather , Benjamin Davis senior , joined ? Yeah.
S2: So , um , The Invisible Generals is the story of Ben Davis senior , who joined the military in the late 1800s and became an officer in 1901 , and he became America's first black general. Now he became a general under a 100% segregated military , which meant that by policy , white individuals in the military could not did not have to address blacks with a salute , and blacks could not legally mandate whites and tell them what to do , direction wise. So he was the only black officer , uh , in the United States military until his son , Ben Davis junior , graduated from West Point in 1936. And when he graduated , they were the only two black officers out of 335,000 people in the military. And what people don't understand is that when the Tuskegee Airmen were created and they were sent to battle in Rome , Italy , Italy , among other places , they were operating in a 100% segregated military , which means that if a person worked to fix as a mechanic a white pilot's airplane , they couldn't fix a black pilot's airplane. If a tool was used to fix a white pilot's airplane , it couldn't be used on a black pilot's airplane. So it was so inefficient. And it was those inefficiencies that ultimately these two men came back with after the war , presented it to President Truman , and the United States military was integrated in 1948. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. And you write that the challenges he faced did not deter him. So tell us about his journey to becoming the first black general in the United States.
S2: Well , in 1901 , when he when Ben Davis senior became an officer , he ultimately lost his wife in childbirth and was a single dad of three children. He needed to support these children , so he asked for overseas assignments so he could move up much faster. Working and living in Europe and in other parts of the world outside of the United States , where he was given a little bit more leeway. So he was able to use this system to diffuse the system , which was a trait that he also shared with his son , um , as a way to help combat segregation and move more towards integration. Don't fight it from the outside , but actually use performance on the inside , even though day after day you're given the worst option of food , the worst barracks , the lowest quality resources and accommodations and equipment. So living in a segregated military was not something that was separate but equal. It was separate and very much unequal. But no matter how he was treated with those indignities , he fought through it because he knew that he needed to pave the way for people like his son to have better freedoms. And then he paved the way for people like my dad and myself as a selfless contribution to the United States.
S1:
S2: Yeah , I think one of the superpowers of Ben Davis senior was even though he went through this system full of indignities in a country that wasn't necessarily , uh , reciprocating that love , he still encouraged his son , uh , to go through the same system and to be the change that he was not able to be during his time in the military. So he brought his son for a $5 barnstorming ride because his son was depressed at the loss of their mother in childbirth. And when he came down , he said , daddy , I want to be a pilot. And Ben Davis senior said , if you want to be a pilot , I will train you every day. I will show you the way so you could get into West Point , because even America cannot turn down an eligible West Point grad that finishes in the top third of their class to be a pilot and an aviator. So Ben Davis , senior at that moment , decides to commit his journey to his son , relocates the family to Illinois so he could get the proper signature from the only Black Congress person in the United States , Oscar De Priest , so his son can get into West Point , and when he arrives at West Point , they don't know he's black. So on the second day , they have a meeting and they say , we accidentally allowed a black cadet in. You are to treat him as if he's invisible until he drops out , and Ben Jr calls his dad and shares his story with him. And his dad said , I trained you for this moment , right ? The date of graduation on the wall. And no matter what anyone does , you have to be the person to help break this barrier of integration. And Ben Davis Jr went to West Point for four years , 50 weeks a year , with no human interaction outside the line of duty , no study buddies. He wasn't allowed to go into the library. He ate alone every single day , three times a day after asking permission to sit. No cadets would allow him to sit in. He ate standing up. He was left in the forest for days at a time. And after all of that , he still graduated in the top third of his class. And because of that , he was able to be eligible to become a pilot and ultimately lead the Tuskegee Airmen.
S1: So tell us more about Benjamin David junior and senior and their roles in the creation and leadership of the Tuskegee Airmen.
S2: So in 1940 , when president FDR was seeking reelection , he brought on the highest ranking black soldier as an advisor on Negro. Policy in the United States of America , and that advisor was Ben Davis , senior. He asked Ben Senior , what is a surefire way for him to gather the black vote ? And Ben Davis senior said , well , as the largest company in America , if the Army was a business , you must provide equal compensation and equal opportunity for blacks and whites , which at that time was not something that was commonplace in segregation. And that was going to begin with allowing blacks to fly airplanes. It was the most prestigious job in the military , and there was not one black that was eligible to fly. And with that , FDR said , but who would lead that ? And Ben Davis senior said , my son. So Ben Senior worked with FDR to get the approval of the Tuskegee Airmen. And then his son was the pilot who flew down there and with four other men , became the first black pilots in the United States history to ever fly for the United States Army. And because Ben Jr had graduated West Point , he was the commander of the other four men , and that was the formation of the Tuskegee Airmen.
S1: And how did Tuskegee get pulled into this ? Tell me about that.
S2: Well , the Tuskegee Institute was one of the most popular institutes for studying black culture. Black Americans , black innovation. George Washington Carver's farms were down there when he was a botanist , and he was creating a lot of the systems that we use today for modern day farming. Ben Davis senior had been stationed down there to train a lot of troops , so that was used as a place that was very hot. It was isolated. It was a little bit off the beaten path , but they also had the space in the facilities that they could build around. And that's where why that became the centerpiece of the Tuskegee Airmen.
S1: You know , so Benjamin Davis Junior's contributions , I mean , they even go much further than just his time in the military. Isn't that right ? Yeah.
S2: So Ben Davis , junior in the military , ended up retiring as a three star general. And his biggest joy , he would always say , was commanding the Tuskegee Airmen and the Tuskegee Airmen were 15,000 men and women in a 100% segregated air force during World War Two , of which those 15,000 1000 were pilots. So after he got out of the military cutting to 1970 , he got a job working with the Pentagon on special projects as it relates to national security around aviation and transportation. And in those years , that's when he created and led the creation of the TSA , which we all know today at the airport. He approved the creation of a commercial airline security process to keep the skies safe. The United States Air Marshal program to prevent hijackings and sky jacking , something that were happening at that time. And he was so successful and implementing those programs. In 1974 , he went to lead the creation of the 55 mile an hour speed limit , which is something that we still know and use today. He was even nicknamed Mr. 55 by President Carter and those in the Pentagon for his dedication to identifying the maximum speed limit for gas efficiency and to save as many lives as possible.
S1: That all of that is amazing. Before we go.
S2: And the tapestry of American history is so wide that we have. If this story could be invisible to even me until I was in my 30s , and if this story is invisible to history books , then can you imagine all of the other stories out there that have yet to be told from veterans that grew up in the silent generation , that spent their whole life dedicated to making sure their children live a better life , but have never been told by themselves. So I think my biggest learning is that we all have an opportunity to tell our own family stories , and it starts with us. And until we look on the couch to ask people what they've lived through , we'll never truly have a full picture of American history.
S1: I've been speaking with Doug Melville , author of Invisible Generals Rediscovering Family Legacy and a Quest to Honor America's First Black Generals. Thank you so much for sharing more about your book and your family , Doug. Very nice. Thank you.
S2: Thank you so much.
S1: Thanks for joining us today. Don't forget to watch Evening Edition tonight at five for in-depth reporting on San Diego issues. We'll be back here tomorrow at noon , and if you ever miss a show , you can find the Midday Edition podcast on all platforms. I'm Jade Hindman. Thanks for listening.
