# What was the highest rank held by blacks in the segregated American military? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 12, 2008, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-highest-rank-held-by-blacks-in-the-segregated-american-military/472295 "2008-11-12T03:31:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-highest-rank-held-by-blacks-in-the-segregated-american-military/472295/1 "2008-11-12T03:31:12Z")
We all know that in World War II and before, blacks in the American military were segregated into their own units. (The Korean War was the first war fought with an integrated military, due to an Executive Order by Truman not long after WWII ended.) Would any of those all-black units have black COs? Were there any black officers? How large were the all-black units at their peak? (squadron? platoon? brigade?) ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-highest-rank-held-by-blacks-in-the-segregated-american-military/472295/2 "2008-11-12T03:37:51Z")
Look up the Tuskegee airmen. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-highest-rank-held-by-blacks-in-the-segregated-american-military/472295/3 "2008-11-12T03:47:16Z")
> [@mks57](#): > > Look up the Tuskegee airmen. OK, how do I know they held the highest rank? ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-highest-rank-held-by-blacks-in-the-segregated-american-military/472295/4 "2008-11-12T04:01:33Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > OK, how do I know they held the highest rank? Their commander [Benjamin O. Davis Jr](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_O._Davis_Jr.#Biography) was the highest ranking pre-integration officer in the US armed forces I believe. Though it doesn’t explicitly mention that on his wiki page. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-highest-rank-held-by-blacks-in-the-segregated-american-military/472295/5 "2008-11-12T04:47:45Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Their commander [Benjamin O. Davis Jr](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_O._Davis_Jr.#Biography) was the highest ranking pre-integration officer in the US armed forces I believe. Though it doesn’t explicitly mention that on his wiki page. Are you sure you don’t mean his father, [Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_O._Davis,_Sr.) the first African-American general officer in the U.S. Army? ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-highest-rank-held-by-blacks-in-the-segregated-american-military/472295/6 "2008-11-12T04:59:45Z")
> [@Billdo](#): > > Are you sure you don’t mean his father, [Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_O._Davis,_Sr.) the first African-American general officer in the U.S. Army? Ah, very, possibly. I remember that factoid from a I podcast heard about about him, but it could have been his father that reached that milestone… ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-highest-rank-held-by-blacks-in-the-segregated-american-military/472295/7 "2008-11-12T05:30:20Z")
WOW that was interesting