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Duty, Honor, Amends: West Point barracks named for Davis, '36 black graduate who was shunned

Associated Press
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FILE--In this Dec. 9, 1998 file photo, Ret. Lt. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., listens to remarks prior to receiving his fourth star from President Clinton at the Old Executive Office Building in Washington. Davis Jr. entered West Point in 1932 as its only black cadet and spent the next four years shunned. He roomed alone and ate alone. The future Tuskegee Airman and trailblazing Air Force general later recalled he was “an invisible man.” Now more than a decade after his death, the academy that ostracized Davis is honoring him. (AP Photo/Greg Gibson, File) (The Associated Press)

This undated photo provided by the U.S. Army shows then-cadet Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Davis entered West Point in 1932 as its only black cadet and spent the next four years shunned. He roomed alone and ate alone. The future Tuskegee Airman and trailblazing Air Force general later wrote he was “an invisible man.” Now more than a decade after his death, the academy that ostracized Davis is honoring him. (U.S. Army Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

A cadet barracks that will be named in honor of Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. is under construction at the U.S. Military Academy on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in West Point, N.Y. Davis entered West Point in 1932 as its only black cadet and spent the next four years shunned. He roomed alone and ate alone. The future Tuskegee Airman and trailblazing Air Force general later wrote he was “an invisible man.” Now more than a decade after his death, the academy that ostracized Davis is honoring him. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) (The Associated Press)

Benjamin Davis Jr. entered West Point in 1932 as its only black cadet and spent the next four years shunned. He roomed alone and ate alone. The future Tuskegee Airman and trailblazing Air Force general later recalled he was "an invisible man."

Now more than a decade after his death, the academy that ostracized Davis is honoring him.

A new cadet barracks being constructed among the fortress-like stone buildings of the U.S. Military Academy will be named for Davis. It's a rare privilege granted to graduates with names like MacArthur and Eisenhower. Officials at the academy say Davis was a natural choice that also gives the academy a chance to belatedly do right by Davis.

Davis Barracks is expected to house cadets in January 2017.