 Imagine for a moment going through a four-year college program and not having any friends. Most cadets were assigned a roommate. He was not assigned a roommate. The man went to school for four years at a year-round institution and was systematically silenced. You eat alone. You sleep in your barracks room alone. You ride the bus to the Army-Navy game alone. No one talks to you. No one. Imagine that. There were no other black cadets at West Point at that time. His experience had to be overwhelming, especially as he was named 35th out of a class of 276, so in the top third of his graduating class. Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. was the fourth African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy in 1936. General Benjamin O. Davis Jr., you are the best of America. He's a great warrior, a great officer, and a great American. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. came from a military family. His father, Benjamin O. Davis Sr., joined U.S. Army in 1898 during the Spanish-American War as an enlisted soldier. Then Ben Davis Sr. become the first black general in United States history, and then him paving the way and understanding the military, and then Ben Davis Jr. coming up through West Point, something that his dad was not able to do. And he was so thrilled to be here. But within the first day, when he roomed alone as an African American, he realized something was different. That would just make West Point ten times harder for anybody. Back in those days, he was silenced because of his race, and now we're at a place where we celebrate diversity in the Corps, and that's something that we need to always remember. After he graduated, he did so well with his career and had so many different accomplishments and made history. So I think if cadets are able to keep that in the back of their minds and remember that he can make it through, then it will allow them to push through as well. At the time that he entered the military, the military wasn't training African Americans to fly, and so he had to go above and beyond to get that training and to become a pilot. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., because of his experience at West Point and also at Port Benny, knew to achieve and to succeed was through hard work, dedication, and near perfection. They had to be professionals. And so he, though a wonderful officer and a good, kind man, was also a very strong stalwart when it comes to leadership. He did not tolerate mistakes and unacceptable behavior. And I still remember in the mornings, he would have a chalkboard in the kitchen, and it would say today's menu, and it would have the times. 0400, wake up. 0430, sit-ups. 05, read the newspaper. 550, breakfast gets prepared. 530, breakfast is served. And I sat here, and I used to look at my friends and go, what is going on in here? Who does that? But I never realized until later that he had to be perfect in order to get to the next level of his career. So all of it came into perspective over life. He commanded the Tuskegee Airmen, and he went to bat for them at times when folks were saying African Americans can't fly, they can't fight as well as white pilots. He was back in D.C., lobbying, arguing, fighting for his airmen, because he had flown with them, he had fought with them, he knew what they could do. When it came time for the services to integrate, Benjamin O. Davis was on the cutting edge of Air Force integration. He commanded the 13th Air Force. He was the first African American to command a numbered Air Force. His last duty assignment was, he was the Vice Commander of Strike Command. In 1970, after 34 years of active duty, four years at the Academy, he retired as a three-star general. He took a position, a senior position in the Department of Transportation. Many of us who were alive back then, will remember when the 55-mile-an-hour speed limit law was enacted in 1974, that was his idea. So he served with the Transportation Department for a few years, and then he retired. And this happens to be a picture that we had set up. This is a photo of him when he got his fourth star. President Clinton appointed him as a fourth star general in his retirement. Today, we advance to the rank of fourth star general, Benjamin O. Davis Jr., a hero in war, a leader in peace, a pioneer for freedom, opportunity, and basic human dignity. But General Davis is here today as living proof that a person can overcome adversity and discrimination, achieve great things, turn skeptics into believers, and that through example and perseverance, one person can bring truly extraordinary change. Just like West Point says in its mission statement, he was committed to a lifetime of service to the nation. He never looked back. He never looked back and said, I was poorly treated while I was at the Academy. I had troubles here, I had troubles there. He always looked forward. He continues to show us the importance of duty, honor, and country. As cliche as that may sound, he embodied every pillar that the United States Military Academy and the Air Force wants to show and employ. When I think of General Davis, I'm just honored and moved by his dedication, his strength, his fortitude, his ability to rise above his circumstances and continue to excel and be a great light for future officers, including myself. Benjamin R. Davis Jr., American. That's what he thought of himself as an American. He wanted to be remembered for his merit rather than his color. One word to describe General Davis would be a pioneer. Tenacity. Resilience. Great courage. Determination. Excellence. Perseverance. Commitment. If I had to describe General Davis in one word, I think that word would be overwhelming. When we look at him and we think about him and what he accomplished in his life and whether our efforts are going to measure up for him to be proud of us, it's overwhelming. And so the idea of naming the new cadet barracks after Davis is just an incredible opportunity to inspire the cadets, to inspire generations in the future of what this individual did contributed and achieved during his life. Of all the names that they started with when the process began, of who would they name the building after and who signified the future and whose name would we integrate into the lexicon of the entire academy. And when it came down to one name and they selected Benjamin R. Davis Jr., it was the happiest moment. I couldn't even believe it. And then seeing it for the first time, it's awe-inspiring. When I look at General Davis and I look at that building, I said, that is greatness personified. So we not only have a picture of him, but we have something to stare at every single day. Not only does it celebrate the man Davis, but it's up above some of the other barracks, just like Davis would have been when he was in his P-51 Mustang. Davis Barracks is soaring up above some of the other barracks in the academy. Ben would just have been elated. He would have been very honoured, felt very honoured, but very humbled about it. I just wish he could have seen it. That would have been his whole life and a fitting end to it.