Brig. Gen. Benjamin Davis, Sr. honored with Black History commemorative stamp

Jet, Feb 17, 1997

A commemorative stamp honoring Brig. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., the nation's first Black general was recently released by the Postal Service during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The stamp is part of the U.S. Postal Service's Black Heritage stamp series.

Davis joined the U.S. Army as a private and served in the Spanish-American War and became a major during World War I and a colonel in 1930s. He became the nation's first Black general in 1940 and during World War II served as a special advisor to the commander of the European Theater and in other posts.

Davis, who was credited with helping to integrate the U.S. Army, spoke out for racial peace in 1944. "If the people of the United States cannot evolve some kind of platform so that various groups can get along in harmony, they cannot make a world peace."

Gen. Davis died in 1970 at age 93. He was buried in Arlington (VA) National Cemetery near the gravesite of President John F. Kennedy.