Tuskegee Airman Honored By West Point Academy Decades After School Shunned Him

Benjamin O. Davis Jr. entered West Point in 1932 as its only black cadet and spent the next four years shunned, writes the Associated Press.

He roomed alone, and no one befriended him. The future Tuskegee Airman and trailblazing Air Force general later said he was “an invisible man,” writes AL.com.

Now – more than a decade after his death – the academy that allowed Davis to be ostracized is giving him an honor.

A new cadet barracks being constructed at the U.S. Military academy will be named for Davis. It is a rare privilege previously granted to graduates like MacArthur and Eisenhower, writes the New Zealand Herald.

Officials at the legendary military university say Davis was a good choice because of his career and character. It also gives the academy a chance to belatedly do right by Davis.

“If you want to know what, ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ look like, just read a little bit about Benjamin O. Davis Jr., and your jaw will drop because he is the epitome of what we want at a time when we didn’t know what ‘right’ looked like,” said Colonel Ty Seidule, the head of West Point’s history department, writes the Salt Lake Tribune. “So it’s our chance to acknowledge one of our greatest graduates.”

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11446567

http://www.sltrib.com/news/2496627-155/story.html

South Carolina Man Wins Lions Club’s Highest Honor

The Manning Lions Club presented Lion George Calloway with the highest award one can receive from the Lions Clubs at the South Carolina group’s annual Valentine’s event on February 16th.

Pictured here, Lions President Joe McNeil, left, presented Calloway, right, with the Dr. Franklin Mason Fellowship Award, which recognizes the humanitarian efforts of an individual in the club striving continuously to adhere to the motto “We Serve.”

Calloway has been a member of the club for 57 years. During his long tenure with the Manning Lions Club, Calloway has been a leader in efforts to raise funds for the Lions’ primary mission, providing vision services to those in need.

“Calloway has worked many hours with vision projects, including vision screenings in the schools and other services within the community,” said McNeil. “The Manning Lions Club proudly acknowledges Lion George Calloway for all he has done with the (club) and his other activities within the Manning Community.”