F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- The 90th Missile Wing dedicated Quarters 64 to Brig. Gen. Benjamin Davis, Sr., the first African-American general officer in the U.S. military with a memorial stone and marker on F.E. Warren Air Force Base, July 22, 2022.
Davis served at Fort D.A. Russell in 1912, as a commander of I Troop of the 9th Cavalry, a Buffalo Soldier unit, and resided in Quarters 64 while stationed here.
Though the home was dedicated Friday, the thought to commemorate Davis’ residence came more than thirty years ago. However, the records of the time were hard to come by and it was a challenge to pinpoint the home that Davis lived in.
“Cornelius ‘Doc’ Settles and I started looking into where General Davis lived more than 30 years ago, and right before I retired, he thought he might have figured out that it was Quarters 64,” said Paula Taylor, museum director from 1992-2021. “Then, Susie Taylor from the state archive said that she received a post directory for 1912 and confirmed that Davis lived in the quarters.”
A lot of effort from many people went into finding the home, according to Taylor.
Settles and Taylor started the process and never gave up hope on finding it, Kyle Brislan, previous 90th Missile Wing historian, conducted extensive research on locating his quarters and submitted an initial package for the dedication, and Jeremiah Foster, 90th Missile Wing historian, resubmitted the final package. Both he and Daniek Long, current museum curator, helped organize and plan the commemoration event.
Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, served as guest of honor and speaker for the ceremony.
“I am so glad that as the first African-American four-star general of Global Strike Command, I get to come back and be part of this ceremony,” said Cotton. “It is humbling to be here and it is humbling to represent the 34,000 men and women that make up Air Force Global Command and protect you every single day, like they’re doing right at this very minute.”
It has been more than a half century since a residence has been commemorated on base, but for those involved, this most recent dedication was a long time coming.
“The last time the wing formally dedicated one of the houses on base was in 1959, to recognize the former residences of Generals Pershing and Clark, and the legacy of Brig Gen Davis Sr. is certainly as equally as important and fascinating, so it is definitely overdue that his unique place in the story of this base has been formally recognized,” said Foster. “F.E. Warren is incredibly historically unique – and while that fact has at times greatly challenged our efforts to modernize it has also provided us with meaningful opportunities to engage with our military heritage.”
Cotton closed the ceremony three decades in the making with a thank you.
“On behalf of the men and women of Air Force Global Strike Command, what I would like to say to this great local community of Cheyenne and this incredible base is thank you,” said Cotton. “Thank you for recognizing and dedicating Quarters 64 to an amazing family heritage of B.O. Davis Sr., and his incredible son, founder of the Tuskegee Airmen, B.O. Davis Jr.”
Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., was the first African-American four-star general in the U.S. Air Force.