CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
During World War II, Black Americans took the opportunity to point out the hypocrisy of engaging in a war effort to save democracy abroad while maintaining segregation laws at home. Spurred by the national newspaper, Chicago Defender, the Black community engaged in a Double-V campaign—demanding victory for democracy abroad and at home. Black citizens volunteered and enlisted to support all aspects of the war—from Red Cross volunteer chapters to military units—despite the segregation they faced in every aspect of wartime production.
After facing significant pressure from civil rights organizations and Black leaders, the U.S. military agreed to allow Black men to enlist in aviator training. The Army Auxiliary Air Force contracted with Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to create a comprehensive training center for Black airmen and support personnel as an “experiment.” This center opened in 1941 and trained about 1,000 pilots and 10,000 support personnel, including mechanics, radio operators, navigators, photographers, and other skilled technicians. The aviators formed the 99th squadron and eventually three additional squadrons that joined the 332nd Fighter Group.
Some white military leaders believed that Black men did not have the intellectual capabilities to fly airplanes; the Tuskegee Airmen proved them wrong. More than 350 airmen served in Italy in active combat roles. They flew 1,578 missions in both air combat and escort roles accompanying and protecting the bomber planes over North Africa and Europe. The pilots shot down 112 enemy aircraft and earned a reputation for having the lowest loss record of any escort group. They earned several presidential citations for their excellence in combat and were in demand as escorts for Allied aircraft as well. Although these men held a distinguished record, they still faced segregation and discrimination at home. However, the heroic actions performed by the Tuskegee Airmen and other Black service men and women during World War II contributed to President Harry Truman's order to desegregate the military in 1948.
Rhode Island native Ralph H. Davis earned his pilot's license by 1939 and enlisted in the Army Air Corps in November 1941. He was trained as an airplane maintenance technician and served as an instructor with the 889th Flying Squadron and 2143 AAF Base Unit. After World War II, Staff Sergeant Davis and his family settled in his wife's hometown of Staunton, Virginia. The photograph of Davis inspecting a plane during World War II accompanies his biography for the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame. The remaining photographs were published in the yearbook of the Tuskegee Army Flying School.
Citation: Photograph and biography of Ralph Davis and photographs published in Tuskegee Army Flying School and AAF 66th FTD Yearbook (ca. 1943), Ralph Hickman Davis Papers, 1943–2021, Accession 50284, Library of Virginia.
After facing significant pressure from civil rights organizations and Black leaders, the U.S. military agreed to allow Black men to enlist in aviator training. The Army Auxiliary Air Force contracted with Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to create a comprehensive training center for Black airmen and support personnel as an “experiment.” This center opened in 1941 and trained about 1,000 pilots and 10,000 support personnel, including mechanics, radio operators, navigators, photographers, and other skilled technicians. The aviators formed the 99th squadron and eventually three additional squadrons that joined the 332nd Fighter Group.
Some white military leaders believed that Black men did not have the intellectual capabilities to fly airplanes; the Tuskegee Airmen proved them wrong. More than 350 airmen served in Italy in active combat roles. They flew 1,578 missions in both air combat and escort roles accompanying and protecting the bomber planes over North Africa and Europe. The pilots shot down 112 enemy aircraft and earned a reputation for having the lowest loss record of any escort group. They earned several presidential citations for their excellence in combat and were in demand as escorts for Allied aircraft as well. Although these men held a distinguished record, they still faced segregation and discrimination at home. However, the heroic actions performed by the Tuskegee Airmen and other Black service men and women during World War II contributed to President Harry Truman's order to desegregate the military in 1948.
Rhode Island native Ralph H. Davis earned his pilot's license by 1939 and enlisted in the Army Air Corps in November 1941. He was trained as an airplane maintenance technician and served as an instructor with the 889th Flying Squadron and 2143 AAF Base Unit. After World War II, Staff Sergeant Davis and his family settled in his wife's hometown of Staunton, Virginia. The photograph of Davis inspecting a plane during World War II accompanies his biography for the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame. The remaining photographs were published in the yearbook of the Tuskegee Army Flying School.
Citation: Photograph and biography of Ralph Davis and photographs published in Tuskegee Army Flying School and AAF 66th FTD Yearbook (ca. 1943), Ralph Hickman Davis Papers, 1943–2021, Accession 50284, Library of Virginia.
Standards
USII.6, VUS.14, GOVT.2, GOVT.5
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Take a Look: Look at the photographs. What stands out to you, and why?
Post-Activities
Be the Journalist: Imagine you are preparing to interview Ralph Davis. What questions would you ask him, and why?
Dig Deeper: Read the Document Bank entry “I Fought for Virginia.” Think about the racial discrimination faced by men volunteering for the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. How do you think they would have reacted to this 1942 recruitment effort, and why? How important do you think their contributions were to both the war effort itself and the greater civil rights movement?
Take a Look: Look at the photographs. What stands out to you, and why?
Post-Activities
Be the Journalist: Imagine you are preparing to interview Ralph Davis. What questions would you ask him, and why?
Dig Deeper: Read the Document Bank entry “I Fought for Virginia.” Think about the racial discrimination faced by men volunteering for the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. How do you think they would have reacted to this 1942 recruitment effort, and why? How important do you think their contributions were to both the war effort itself and the greater civil rights movement?