Lee Archer (pilot)

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For other people named Lee Archer, see
Air Force Commendation Medal (2)
Congressional Gold Medal

Lee Andrew Archer, Jr. (September 6, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an

332nd Fighter Group, commonly known as the Tuskegee Airmen, during World War II. He was one of the first African American military aviators in the United States Army Air Corps, the United States Army Air Forces and later the United States Air Force, eventually earning the rank of lieutenant colonel
.

During World War II, Archer flew 169 combat missions, including bomber escort, reconnaissance and ground attack. Archer claimed and was credited with five enemy fighter aircraft shot down making him an Ace.[3]

Archer was one of only four

Harry T. Stewart Jr.[4][5]

Early life

Born in,

Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama, graduating first in his class,[7][8] and one of only 994 black wartime pilots to graduate there. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on July 28, 1943.[9]

World War II

A restored P-51C Mustang in Lee Archer's markings, is now flown by Kermit Weeks, at Fantasy of Flight.[10][N 1]

Archer is the only black U.S. pilot to earn an "ace" designation, for shooting down at least five enemy aircraft.[12][3] Archer was acknowledged to have shot down four planes, and he and another pilot, Lt Hutchins both claimed victory for shooting down a fifth aircraft. An investigation by the Air Force years later, revealed Lt. Archer had inflicted the damage that destroyed the Bf-109, by destroying the Bf-109's left wing; causing it to spiral into the ground. This was also verified by Lt. Hutchins.

The Air Force eventually confirmed him an ace pilot.[3] Archer also destroyed six aircraft on the ground during a strafing mission in August 1944, as well as several locomotives, motor transports and barges.[8][3]

While flying with the

332nd Fighter Group, known collectively as the "Tuskegee Airmen", he scored his first victory, a Messerschmitt Bf 109 on July 18, 1944, over Memmingen, Germany.[N 3][9]

Archer is best remembered for his exploits of October 12, 1944.[15] In the midst of a furious series of dogfights over German-occupied Hungary, he shot down three Hungarian Bf 109s over Lake Balaton, Hungary, in engagements that spanned only 10 minutes.[9]

Archer was one of only four

332nd Fighter Group pilots with at least three confirmed kills during World War II
:

  • Joseph Elsberry - 332nd Fighter Group's 301st Fighter Squadron - 4 Confirmed Kills, 1 Possible
  • 99th Fighter Squadron
    - 4 Confirmed Kills, 1 Possible
  • Lee Archer - 332nd Fighter Group's 302nd Fighter Squadron - 5 Confirmed Kills
  • 99th Fighter Squadron
    3 confirmed kills
  • 99th Fighter Squadron
    - 3 Confirmed Kills
  • Clarence D. Lester - 332nd Fighter Group's 100th Fighter Squadron - 3 Confirmed Kills
  • Wendell O. Pruitt - 332nd Fighter Group's 302nd Fighter Squadron - 3 Confirmed Kills
  • Roger Romine - 332nd Fighter Group's 302nd Fighter Squadron - 3 Confirmed Kill, 1 Unconfirmed
  • Harry Stewart, Jr.
    - 332nd Fighter Group's 301st Fighter Squadron - 3 Confirmed Kills

When Archer returned home in 1945 as a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, he found that nothing seemed to have changed in American society. "I flew 169 combat missions when most pilots were flying 50," Archer told the Chicago Tribune in 2004. "When I came back to the U.S. and down that gangplank, there was a sign at the bottom: ′Colored Troops to the Right, White Troops to the Left′."[7]

Archer remained in the armed forces for a career as the United States Army Air Forces transitioned into the present day United States Air Force in 1947. He later flew missions during the Korean War,[9] became a diplomatic officer at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and then became the headquarters chief of the U.S. Air Force Southern Command in Panama,[16] eventually retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1970.[3]

Later career

Archer speaking at the San Diego Aerospace Museum, September 2003.
Television personality Bill Cosby (right) eulogized Archer at a Riverside Church memorial service on February 4, 2010.

After retiring from the military, Archer joined General Foods Corporation in White Plains, N.Y. where he became one of the first black corporate vice presidents of a major U.S. company. While there he also led its small-business investment subsidiary, North Street Capital Corporation, which serviced clients such as Essence Communications and Black Enterprise Magazine. In 1987 he helped establish the food conglomerate TLC Beatrice and in the same year founded the venture capital firm Archer Asset Management.[17] Archer became a longtime resident of New Rochelle, New York.

In October 2005, Archer and four fellow Tuskegee veterans, retired pilot Lt. Colonel Robert Ashby, Retired Master Sgt James A. Sheppard, Retired Colonel Richard Tolliver, and retired

332nd Air Expeditionary Wing
, the successor unit to his all-black outfit.

"This is the new Air Force," he told

The Associated Press. In the dining room, he said, he saw "black, white, Asian, Pacific Islanders, people from different parts of Europe. This," he said, "is what America is."[18]

Illness and death

In April 2009, Archer was selected to be an adviser for the

Cornell University Medical Center in New York City on January 27, 2010, as a result of coronary complications, according to his son Roy Archer.[6][3] His death came during the post-production work on the Lucas film Red Tails, and the film's final credits subsequently bore a tribute to the pilot.[19] At a memorial service for Archer held at the Riverside Church on February 4, entertainer and commentator Bill Cosby gave a eulogy.[20]

Archer was predeceased by his wife, Ina Burdell, who died in 1996 and was survived by his three sons, one daughter and four granddaughters.[7][17] He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[20]

Awards and tributes

Military awards

Silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Silver oak leaf cluster
U.S. Air Force Command Pilot Badge
Distinguished Flying Cross Meritorious Service Medal
oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
with 1 bronze oak leaf cluster 		Air Force Presidential Unit Citation Army Good Conduct Medal
American Campaign Medal
campaign stars
 World War II Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal
with 1 bronze service star 		Korean Service Medal
Air Force Longevity Service Award
with 1 silver oak leaf cluster
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
 Legion of Honour
Chevalier
United Nations Korea Medal

Other honors

  • Archer earned special citations for his work from Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.[16]
  • Archer and his fellow Tuskegee airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007.[21]
  • Archer was an Honoree of the American Fighter Aces Association.[22]
  • Aviation warplane collector and pilot Kermit Weeks restored and flew a P-51 fighter painted in tribute to Archer, in the colorful markings of Archer's "Ina the Macon Belle", originally dedicated to his wife, Ina Burdell.[9]
  • A youth flight training program was established in honor of Lee A. Archer Jr. by Glendon Fraser, President of the "Major General Irene Trowell-Harris chapter" of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.[23] The Lee A. Archer Jr., Red Tail Youth Flying Program operates out of Newburgh, New York and accepts high school students from the Orange County, New York area.
  • Freedom medal[24]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Markings that distinguished the Tuskegee Airmen included red bands on the noses of P-51s as well as a red rudder; their P-51B, C and D Mustangs flew with similar color schemes, with red propeller spinners, yellow wing bands and all-red tail surfaces.[11]
  2. ^ During the latter part of the war, Archer flew a North American P-51C Mustang, sporting "Ina The Macon Belle" on its nose, named after his wife, Ina, and adorned with a Zoot-suited "Hep Cat" painted on its rear fuselage.[9]
  3. ^ On this mission the 332d FG was escorting B-17s of the 483d Bomb Group. Although 15 Fortresses were lost to fighter interception in the fierce air battle, the 332d was credited with nine victories including Archer's.[14]

Citations

  1. ^ "National Visionary Leadership Project: Lee Archer." visionaryproject.com. Retrieved: December 26, 2012.
  2. Atlanta Journal-Constitution
    , January 28, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f https://www.afcent.af.mil/News/Article/220718/original-tuskegee-ace-passes-away/
  4. ^ a b Tuskegee Airmen. "LEGACY - THE PEOPLE." https://tuskegeeairmen.org/legacy/the-people/
  5. ^ "The Tuskegee Airmen: 5 Fascinating Facts". HISTORY. 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  6. ^
    U.S.A.F.
    (official website), January 29, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c Goldstein, Richard. "Lee A. Archer Jr., Tuskegee Fighter Pilot, Dies at 90." The New York Times, February 3, 2010. Retrieved: February 5, 2012.
  8. ^ a b "Lieutenant-Colonel Lee Archer." The Telegraph, January 29, 2010.
  9. ^ a b c d e f White, Troy. "Tuskegee Airman Lt. Lee 'Buddy' Archer." Archived 2013-02-03 at archive.today StardustStudios.com, 2011. Retrieved: December 26, 2012.
  10. ^ "1944 North American P-51C Mustang | Fantasy of Flight". 18 September 2013.
  11. ^ Rice, Markus. "The Men and Their Airplanes: The Fighters." Tuskegee Airmen, 1 March 2000.
  12. ^ Francis 1955, pp. 92, 194.
  13. ^ Tillman 2012, p. 24.
  14. ^ Haulman, Dr. Daniel L. "Misconceptions About the Tuskegee Airmen." Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine AFHRA. Retrieved: 26 October 2013.
  15. ^ Francis and Cato 1997, p. 146.
  16. ^ a b "Tuskegee Airman buried at Arlington." CNN, February 13, 2010.
  17. ^ a b "Lee A. Archer, Ace Tuskegee Airman and V.C., Dies." The New York Times website, January 29, 2010. Retrieved: December 25, 2012.
  18. ^ "Aging Tuskegeee Airmen visit Air Force unit in Iraq." Gadsden Times, October 29, 2005. Retrieved: February 5, 2012.
  19. ^ a b "Lee A. Archer Jr." Legacy.com, February 3, 2010. Retrieved: February 24, 2012.
  20. ^ a b "Dr. William H. "Bill" Cosby Jr., American actor and comedian, delivers a eulogy during a memorial service for retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Lee A. Archer." United States Department of Defense, February 7, 2010. Retrieved: February 5, 2012.
  21. ^ Byrne, Virginia. "Lee Archer – Tuskegee Airman – dies." San Francisco Chronicle, January 31, 2010. Retrieved: February 5, 2012.
  22. ^ "Gala Luncheon Saturday, June 13, 2009; Reginald F. Lewis Foundation." Archived July 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine www.reginaldflewis.com, June 5, 2009. Retrieved: February 5, 2012.
  23. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen, Inc Major General Iriene Trowell-Harris Chapter". tai-ny.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  24. ^ Four Freedoms Award#Freedom Medal

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lee Archer.


External links

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