Lt. Colonel Lee A. Archer, America's Only Black Ace Pilot, Dies at 90

[Sunni Man]

Retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Lee A. Archer, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen who is considered to be the only black ace pilot, died Wednesday at the age of 90.

Like his fellow Tuskegee Airman, activist and entrepreneur Percy Sutton, you can file Archer's life under the "well-lived" category.

Not only did Archer overcome racial barriers by becoming a pilot during a time when the vein of thinking in the U.S. military was that blacks weren't smart enough to do so, he attained ace status by shooting down five planes.

"It is generally conceded that Lee Archer was the first and only black ace pilot," credited with shooting down five enemy planes, Dr. Roscoe Brown Jr., a fellow Tuskegee Airman and friend, said in a telephone interview Thursday with the Associated Press. "A War Department study in 1925 expressly stated that Negroes didn't have the intelligence, or the character, or the leadership to be in combat units, and particularly, they didn't have the ability to be Air Force pilots."

After being a double trailblazer in the military, Archer went on to become a trailblazer in the business world by becoming one of a few top black executives at the time, financing important deals for other key black-owned corporations and opening his own venture capital firm.

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[Baruch Menachem]

Cool, bumped.

 

[Xenophon]

Rest easy Col.

 

[Sunni Man]

Most likely Lt. Colonel Archer will be the only black American ace.

We haven't had an Ace of any color since Vietnam.

Due to the type of wars and enemy that we now fight.

Becomming an Ace is a thing of the past.

 

[Navy1960]

Rest in Peace Col.

 

[PatekPhilippe]

Fair winds and following seas on your journey Colonel Archer...

 

[Navy1960]

I thought you all might like to read an article aqbout a P-51 Mustang that the CAF has been trying to restore to honor the Tuskegee Airmen.

MIDLAND, TEXAS (July 24, 2009) –Join the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) in celebrating the Red Tail Project P-51C Tuskegee Airmen’s return to the skies at a press conference Wednesday, July 29 at 9:45 AM in Aero Shell Square, at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

Following five years of hard-work through the CAF’s Red Tail Project, the Tuskegee Airmen achieved first flight just days before the premier aviation event of the year. Representatives from the CAF and the Red Tail Project of the CAF’s Minnesota Wing will be on hand in Oshkosh to share with AirVenture attendees the plans for the future of the P-51 and the new CAF education program, Rise Above.

“This unique P-51 celebrates a group of men who offered their lives to preserve our freedom,” said CAF President and CEO, Stephan Brown. “There is no better place to share such an important piece of history than at AirVenture Oshkosh, where aviation enthusiasts from around the world will have the opportunity to join us in honoring this extraordinary project.”

The P-51C Tuskegee Airmen is dedicated to telling the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the World War II fighter group composed of African-American pilots and support personnel who fought discrimination and prejudice in order to serve their country. This aircraft will be used once again to spread that message and expose people to the extraordinary gentlemen who set such an inspirational example. CAF’s Rise Above education program is the next step sharing the story with the American people.

Fundraising will soon begin on behalf of the Rise Above educational program to create a travelling exhibition that will precede the P-51 to different venues. A 53-foot trailer will house exhibits to further tell the incredible story of the great American heroes known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
The Red Tail Project

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAO-5cREBg4]YouTube - Aero-TV: The Red Tail Project - Carrying the Torch of the Tuskegee Airmen[/ame]

Our nation owes a debt to the men like Colonel Archer and others and as long as we remember them and honor them then they will never be forgotten.

 

[editec]

Handsome devil when he was young, too, wasn't he?

RIP Colonel Archer.