{"id":29763053,"date":"2026-10-27T10:02:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T09:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/benjamin-o-davis-jr-tuskegee-airmen-first-black-usaf-general\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T10:07:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T09:07:00","slug":"benjamin-o-davis-jr-tuskegee-airmen-first-black-usaf-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/benjamin-o-davis-jr-tuskegee-airmen-first-black-usaf-general\/","title":{"rendered":"Benjamin O. Davis Jr.: The Tuskegee Airman Who Became a General"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color .15s}\r\n.mfsh-trigger:hover,.mfsh-trigger:focus-visible{background:#0F1720;color:#fff;outline:none}\r\n.mfsh-trigger svg{width:18px;height:18px;display:block;flex-shrink:0}\r\n.mfsh-trigger.mfsh-bottom{margin:8px 0 28px}\r\n.mfsh-meta{position:relative;padding-right:190px}\r\n.mfsh-trigger.mfsh-inmeta{position:absolute;right:0;bottom:0;margin:0;height:30px;padding:0 8.9px;font-size:13px}\r\n.mfsh-trigger.mfsh-inmeta 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With that single star, Benjamin O. Davis Jr. became the first African-American general in the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/united-states-air-force\/\">United States Air Force<\/a>, 72 years ago today.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>He had been here before, in a way. His father, Benjamin O. Davis Sr., had become the US Army&rsquo;s first Black general in 1940. But the son&rsquo;s path to that star ran through four years of silence at West Point, a fight in Washington to keep his pilots in combat, and the command of the most famous Black fighter unit in American history: the Tuskegee Airmen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Born:<\/strong> 18 December 1912, Washington, D.C.<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>West Point:<\/strong> Class of 1936, 35th of 276, after four years of &ldquo;silent treatment&rdquo;<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>WWII commands:<\/strong> 99th Fighter Squadron (1942&ndash;43), 332nd Fighter Group, the Red Tails (1943&ndash;45)<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Fighters flown:<\/strong> P-39, P-40, P-47 and P-51 in World War II; F-86 Sabre wing commander in Korea<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>First:<\/strong> First African-American general in the US Air Force: brigadier general, 27 October 1954<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Retired:<\/strong> 1970, as a lieutenant general<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Fourth star:<\/strong> 9 December 1998, pinned by President Bill Clinton<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Died:<\/strong> 4 July 2002, buried at Arlington National Cemetery<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Four years of silence<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Davis entered the US Military Academy at West Point in July 1932. His white classmates decided to drive him out by refusing to speak to him outside the line of duty. He never had a roommate. He ate his meals alone, in silence. It went on for four years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It did not work. Davis graduated in June 1936, 35th in a class of 276, only the fourth African American ever to graduate from West Point and the first in the 20th century. He asked to join the Army Air Corps and was turned down, because the Air Corps did not accept Black officers. The Army sent him to the all-Black 24th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, where he was barred from the officers&rsquo; club, and later to teach military science at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;It was designed to make me buckle, but I refused to buckle. They didn\u2019t understand that I was going to stay there, and I was going to graduate. I was not missing anything by not associating with them. They were missing a great deal by not knowing me.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Benjamin O. Davis Jr.<\/strong> &mdash; On the silent treatment at West Point, as quoted by the US National Park Service<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The first class at Tuskegee<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>In 1941, under political pressure, the War Department agreed to create a Black flying unit and train its pilots at Tuskegee. Captain Davis joined the very first class of aviation cadets in July 1941. On 6 March 1942 he received his wings with four classmates, and they became the first African-American combat fighter pilots in the US military.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/moton-field-hangar-2-control-tower-tuskegee.jpg\" alt=\"Hangar 2 and the brick control tower at Moton Field, Tuskegee, Alabama, part of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Hangar 2 and the control tower at Moton Field, Tuskegee, Alabama, where Tuskegee Airmen cadets took their primary flight training. The site is now part of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. Photo: Lestocq \/ CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Promotion came fast. By May 1942 Davis was a lieutenant colonel, and in August he took command of the 99th Fighter Squadron, the first Black flying unit to go to war. Flying <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/p-40-warhawk\/\">Curtiss P-40 Warhawks<\/a>, the squadron reached North Africa in April 1943 and flew its first combat mission on 2 June 1943, dive-bombing the island of Pantelleria. It went on to support the invasion of Sicily.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZwGjuYKMgKE\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">West Point&rsquo;s own film on Davis, &ldquo;Destined to Lead,&rdquo; published on 18 August 2017, the day the academy dedicated Davis Barracks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A second fight, in Washington<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>In autumn 1943 Davis returned home to take command of the 332nd Fighter Group, a larger all-Black unit then forming at Selfridge Field, Michigan. Almost immediately he faced a different kind of battle. A report from the 99th&rsquo;s white group commander claimed the squadron had performed poorly, and senior officers recommended pulling it out of combat. Davis had never been told of any problems.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>He held a press conference at the Pentagon and testified before a War Department committee studying the use of Black servicemen. The Army ordered an inquiry and kept the 99th flying in the meantime. The study found its performance comparable to other P-40 units, and over the Anzio beachhead in January 1944 its pilots shot down a string of German aircraft in just two days.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1670850005165547520&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:560px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Red Tails over Europe<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Davis took the 332nd to Italy in early 1944. Flying from Ramitelli Airfield on the Adriatic coast, its pilots painted the tails of their fighters red and became famous as the Red Tails. The group moved from <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/p-39-airacobra\/\">P-39 Airacobras<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/p-47-thunderbolt\/\">P-47 Thunderbolts<\/a> and then to <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/p-51-mustang\/\">P-51 Mustangs<\/a>, escorting American heavy bombers on long missions deep into German-held territory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Davis led from the cockpit. He earned the Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the 332nd received a Distinguished Unit Citation for protecting bombers on the long mission to Berlin on 24 March 1945. Over the course of the war, the airmen under his command flew more than 15,000 sorties.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/red-tail-p-51-mustang-tuskegee-airmen-nhs-hangar-2.jpg\" alt=\"A P-51 Mustang with a red tail and red nose suspended inside Hangar 2 at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A P-51 Mustang in 332nd Fighter Group red-tail markings, the centrepiece of Hangar 2 at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. It is a museum display aircraft, not one Davis flew. Photo: Pwsuddes \/ CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Integrating the Air Force<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>In June 1945 Davis took over the all-Black 477th Composite Group at Godman Field, Kentucky, and after the war he commanded Lockbourne Army Air Base in Ohio. Then, in July 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981, ordering the armed forces to end racial segregation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Davis helped draft the Air Force&rsquo;s plan to carry out the order and advised the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force on integration. His own all-Black wing at Lockbourne was deactivated in 1949 as its people were spread across newly integrated units. In effect, he helped dissolve the segregated command he had spent the war defending, because that was the point.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>He went on to the Air War College and the Air Staff in Washington, where, according to the Air Force, he gained approval to create the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/display-teams\/thunderbirds\/\">Thunderbirds<\/a> demonstration team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rIijkuGjtnI\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">White House footage from the Clinton Presidential Library of the 9 December 1998 ceremony at which Davis received his fourth star.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Sabres, stars and a fourth one<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>In November 1953, a few months after the Korean War armistice, Davis took command of the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Suwon, South Korea, a frontline <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-86-sabre\/\">F-86 Sabre<\/a> wing. From there he moved to Far East Air Forces headquarters in Tokyo as director of operations and training, and it was in that post that the star arrived on 27 October 1954. The promotion was temporary at first and was made permanent in 1960.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/51st-fighter-interceptor-wing-f-86f-sabres-korea-1953.jpg\" alt=\"Three F-86F Sabres of the US Air Force 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing with checkerboard tails flying over Korea in 1953\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">F-86F Sabres of the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing over Korea in 1953, the year Davis took command of the wing. US Air Force photo \/ public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The career that followed was a tour of the Cold War Air Force. He was vice commander of Thirteenth Air Force and commander of Air Task Force 13 on Taiwan, then served in Europe from 1957, first at <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-bases\/ramstein\/\">Ramstein Air Base<\/a> as chief of staff of Twelfth Air Force and then at headquarters US Air Forces in Europe. In April 1965 he became a lieutenant general and chief of staff of the United Nations Command and US Forces in Korea, later commanding Thirteenth Air Force in the Philippines and serving as deputy commander in chief of US Strike Command.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Davis retired in 1970 as a lieutenant general and went on to senior posts at the US Department of Transportation. Decades later, the surviving Tuskegee Airmen asked Senator John McCain to act, and Congress authorised a further promotion. On 9 December 1998, President Bill Clinton and Davis&rsquo;s sister, Elnora Davis McLendon, pinned on his fourth star.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;General Davis is here today as living proof that a person can overcome adversity and discrimination, achieve great things, turn skeptics into believers, and through example and perseverance, one person can bring truly extraordinary change.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>President Bill Clinton<\/strong> &mdash; Remarks honoring General Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the White House, 9 December 1998<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Benjamin O. Davis Jr. died on 4 July 2002, aged 89, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. West Point, the academy where nobody would speak to him, later named a new cadet barracks after him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=898221641934807044&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:360px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The silent treatment was supposed to break a cadet. Instead it produced a fighter group commander, the architect of an integrated Air Force, and its first Black general. On 27 October 1954, the man nobody would talk to got the last word.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: US Air Force biography (af.mil), Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Archives (Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Collection), US National Park Service, Public Papers of the Presidents (Clinton, 9 December 1998), Tinker Air Force Base history office, Wikipedia (Benjamin O. Davis Jr.; 99th Flying Training Squadron)<\/em><\/p>\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>Who was Benjamin O. Davis Jr.?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (1912&ndash;2002) was the commander of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, leading the 99th Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group. On 27 October 1954 he became the first African-American general in the US Air Force, and in 1998 he was advanced to four-star general.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>When did Benjamin O. Davis Jr. become a general?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was promoted to brigadier general on 27 October 1954, while serving at Far East Air Forces headquarters in Tokyo, making him the first African-American general in the US Air Force. The promotion was temporary at first and became permanent in 1960. He retired as a lieutenant general in 1970.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What was the silent treatment Benjamin O. Davis Jr. faced at West Point?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">At West Point from 1932 to 1936, Benjamin O. Davis Jr.&rsquo;s white classmates refused to speak to him outside the line of duty, hoping to drive him out. He had no roommate and ate alone. He graduated 35th of 276 in 1936, the fourth African American to graduate from the academy.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Which units did Benjamin O. Davis Jr. command in World War II?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Benjamin O. Davis Jr. commanded the 99th Fighter Squadron, the first Black US flying unit in combat, from August 1942, taking it to North Africa in 1943. From autumn 1943 he commanded the 332nd Fighter Group, the Red Tails, which escorted bombers from Ramitelli in Italy. In 1945 he took over the 477th Composite Group.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What aircraft did Benjamin O. Davis Jr. fly?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">In World War II, Benjamin O. Davis Jr. flew fighters including the P-40 Warhawk with the 99th Fighter Squadron and the P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang with the 332nd Fighter Group. In November 1953 he took command of the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing in Korea, which flew the F-86 Sabre.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>When did Benjamin O. Davis Jr. receive his fourth star?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was advanced to four-star general on the retired list on 9 December 1998. Senator John McCain sponsored the legislation after a request from the Tuskegee Airmen, and President Bill Clinton and Davis&rsquo;s sister, Elnora Davis McLendon, pinned on the fourth star at a White House ceremony.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who was Benjamin O. Davis Jr.?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (1912\u20132002) was the commander of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, leading the 99th Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group. 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Senator John McCain sponsored the legislation after a request from the Tuskegee Airmen, and President Bill Clinton and Davis\u2019s sister, Elnora Davis McLendon, pinned on the fourth star at a White House ceremony.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/the-red-tails-how-the-tuskegee-airmen-proved-america-wrong\/\">The Red Tails: How the Tuskegee Airmen Proved America Wrong<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/republic-p-47-thunderbolt-the-jug\/\">The Flying Tank They Called the Jug<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/buzz-aldrin-korea-f-86-sabre-mig-15-gun-camera-1953\/\">Buzz Aldrin in MiG Alley: The Sabre Pilot Who Filmed a MiG Pilot Ejecting<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/nicole-malachowski-first-woman-thunderbirds-pilot-f-15e\/\">Nicole Malachowski: The First Woman to Fly With the Thunderbirds<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 27 October 1954, Tuskegee Airmen commander Benjamin O. Davis Jr. became the first African-American general in the US Air Force.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":29762953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29763053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Benjamin O. Davis Jr.: First Black USAF General | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Benjamin O. 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