Leader of Character: The Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Airfield at the U.S. Air Force Academy: A Commemoration, Colloquium, and Celebration

This work includes a text of the ceremony that formalized the renaming of the US Air Force Academy Airfield in honor of General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Senior leaders from across the Air Force and prominent members of the community welcomed members of Gen Davis’s family for the occasion. Four prominent historians provide the historical context for the decision to rename the field and discuss Gen Davis’s connection to the USAF Academy. We learn of his struggles from his childhood to his days at West Point and his service in the Army during WW II and beyond. Gen Davis distinguished himself at every step, overcoming racial prejudice to excel in leadership and diplomacy around the world.