An Air Force general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen, Gen. Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr., was the first African-American general in the USAF. He commanded the 332nd Fighter Group in World War II, which escorted bombers on air combat missions over Europe. A pilot himself, he flew more than 60 missions in such fighters as the P-39, P-40, P47, and P-51 Mustang. A 1936 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, at the time of his graduation the U.S. Army had only two black officers: Gen. Davis and his father.