combat missions with the tuskegee airmen and the first african-american general in the air force benjamin o. davis, jr. yesterday was the anniversary of benjamin o. davis, sr. receiving his one star october 1940. there are few of us who remember 1940 yet our panel does. let's introduce lieutenant colonel brown from minneapolis, minnesota, whose father also fought in world war i. so colonel brown, would you give us just a brief summary of your events in the military please, sir? >> certainly. i was born and raised minneapolis, minnesota, and when i was about in the sixth grade, 11 years old i woke up one morning and guess what? i was going to become a military fighter pilot. well, at the mention of that my mother who looked at me and isn't it strange how your mother can look at you and say he has all this wonderful talent when i had no talent whatsoever, but they can see things that no one else can see. so i sat on that piano stool for the first ten years of my life or so. and then in the sixth grade 11 years old i decided i was going to become a military pilot. don't ask me why, don't ask me how.

benjamin o davis senior, the highest-ranking african-american, during world war i, was a gentle man i just referred to, colonel charles young. he has interpreted several times throughout the exhibition. the third african-american to graduate north west point, 1889. in world war i, he was a lieutenant colonel when the war started. he had gone through the board and was in line to be promoted to colonel. he was involuntarily north retired for medical reasons. he was reinstated five days before the war ended and shore there is a story behind that. or he got a squirrel ranks. there were no african-american general an officers during world war i. >> tony, newport, tennessee. >> good morning. a couple of things. mercier i was in vietnam. 1965-66 and my father was also a military man. i didn't know about being prejudice. i was on army bases most of the time with my parents. when i wound up going to fort bragg, 3:00 in the morning by train, i noticed a slave market was still in the lamar lump lump middle-of-the-road down there. signs on the wall that lump lump lump said, blacks shop between se

general benjamin o. davis, in this photograph, the highest ranking african-american u.s. air force officer, greeted bob hope upon his arrival to clark airbase. and davis would later be asked to serve on the president's commission on campus unrest. to investigate the shootings at kent state in 1970. many of the photos i took then were used during our daily television show. so it was at clark airbase where i got seriously involved in photography. this was where i bought my first nikon f camera and lenses. now, i had a professional camera. the hobby shop on the base was my escape from work. next came printing my images. here, they really taught me how to make a really finished photograph. watching a photo appear in the developer was like magic. i was now giving myself assignments and taking pictures daily and printing what i thought was good. after a while, the photo lab techs encouraged me to enter an air force photo competition. with their encouragement, i entered this photo, which won first place for portraiture. another photo i entered won third place for landscapes. hav

also, there was a young man who graduated from west point in 1936, benjamin o. davis junior, who when he graduated pretty well up in his class, that segregated through his training years, said he wanted to be a pilot and they said, sorry, they did not have any black division units. so, he was denied that. so it took world war ii and the pressure was, the army said, we have the issue -- if you keep pressing us, we will authorize a squadron. i will be glad to talk on that. but segregation was the name of the game. segregation overseas. it came back home. it took our united states air force to make a decision. mike: in your biography, it says you have a record of 409 combat missions, which would mean over time, i would think that attitude would start to change and you started to be considered eventually a valuable member, and effective fighter pilot. >> when did you start to notice the tenor of communications with you, when did that start to change? when did you start to get more respect? mr. mcgee: that's interesting. you did not want me to lecture for 20 minutes? mike:

a gentleman that night of august 22nd, arguing about racial matters, referring to lieutenant benjamin o. davis as an uncle tom and insisting once a white woman had a negro she would never go back to a white man. he released an eight-page news article to the press without proper review, and he had dismissed the many successful negro officers in the army. now the attorney general was furious about these actions on r merritt and felt he was going to be found guilty but he offered a caution, he said such a trial would be time consuming and expensive and while it might discredit merritt with the press it would also give him a platform, a trial would give merritt publicity. unstated was the significant point, it would also bring publicity to the army and its problem with race. so the attorney, staff attorney general, made a recommendation that went against his own desires. he wrote, although it hurts me to say this, for the overall good of the command, i recommend that major merritt be removed from the command and retired as soon as possible. thus, merritt retired from the army at the end of 1969, a

airmen and wingman to the unit's leader and the first african-american general in the air force benjamin o. davis jr. there are few in the audience that will remember 1940 our burr guests do. let's return to our next guest. colonel brown, you would give us a brief history of some of your events in the military please, sir? >> certainly. i was born in minnesota. when i was in the sixth grade and i was 11 years old and i woke up and guess what? i was going to become a military fighter pilot. well, at the mention of that, my mother who looked at me, isn't it strange how your mother can look at you and say he has all this wonderful talent, when i had no talent whatsoever, but they could see things that no one else could see. so i set on that piano stool for the first ten years of my life or so. and then in the sixth grade, 11 years old i decided i was going to become a military pilot. don't ask me how, why, i don't remember seeing a movie about it. but one night i woke up and i was bit. so from that point on it was model airplanes and every book i can fly. i remember one book in particular, texas, we

that is benjamin o. davis sr. the highest ranking african-american during world war i was the gentleman i just returned to is charles young. charles young was interpreted several times throughout the exhibition and he was the third african-american to graduate from west point in 1889 and in world war i he was a lieutenant colonel when the war started. he had gone through the board and was in line to be promoted to colonel. but he was involuntary retired for a medical reason. but he was reinstated five days before the war ended and there is a story behind that. and got his colonel ranks. so there were no african-american general officers during world war i. >> tony in newport, tennessee. good morning. you're next. >> good morning. i just got a couple of things that i learned. i was in vietnam war back in '65 and '66 and my father was also a military man. i didn't know anything about being prejudice at all. i was on army bases most of the time with my parents. but when i wound up going to fort bragg, about 3:00 in t

also, there was a young man who graduated from west point in '36, benjamin o. davis jr., who when he graduated pretty well up in his class, but segregated through his training years said he wanted to be a pilot and they said, sorry, they don't have any black aviation units. so he was denied that. so it took world war ii action in our country willing to help our allies in europe and pressure was it the aurm said, well, we know it will fail, but you keep pressing us, we'll authorize a squadron, be glad to talk on that as we go down the line. but segregation was the name of the game. segregation went overseas, came back home, it took our united states air force to make a decision. >> in your biography, it says you have a record of 409 combat missions, which means over time i would think that attitude started to change and you started to be considered a valuable member is, an effective fighter pilot. when did you start to notice the tenor of communications with you and added responsibilities? when in your military career did that start to change where you started to get