Lee Archer – Tuskegee Fighter Pilot

Recently, a local legislator wrote to me about education –  what has changed since his youth. He recalled, decades ago, his Maine high school being visited by one Lee Archer. The values Lee Archer taught those Maine kids moved him, and still do. So, you may ask, who is Lee Archer?

As my educator-siblings say, this may be a “teaching moment” – or it was for me. You see, Lee Archer, who died in 2010, was an American fighter ace, a WWII hero. He flew with the 332nd Fighter Group in WWII, the Tuskegee Airmen, and was one of four Tuskegee pilots with three shootdowns in one day. He is the only one credited with five shootdowns, making him an “ace.”

Now, imagine a Maine high school hearing from this hero, decades ago. Archer joined the Army in 1941. A young black man, he was resolved to become a combat pilot – even as he knew the Army did not allow blacks to become combat pilots. Never mind, he believed merit would win.

He was right, although his first fights, diplomatically waged, were on the ground, not in the sky. When the Army relented, he was one of the first into the Tuskegee school, and first in his class.

During WWII, “Buddy Archer” flew 169 combat missions, in P-39s, P-47s, and the famed P-51 Mustang, much of his time in the P-51C fighter, with a red tail, the sign of the 332^nd Fighter Group.

He flew with Harry Stewart Jr., another decorated Tuskegee combat fighter pilot, who had three shootdowns in one dogfight in 1945; James Harvey, an early “top gun” winner (1949), and George Hardy, another decorated Tuskegee pilot, later notching 45 missions over Korea.

Stewart, Harvey, and Hardy are, today, the only three Tuskegee combat pilots still alive, respectively 99, 101 and 101. All three of these Tuskegee airmen, and hundreds more, were distinguished not just for the love of this country, outsized daring, and achievement, but for being willing to say, when the world said, “Do not try,” instead: “I can, I will, trust me, you will see.”

The Tuskegee Airmen were exceptional aviators, heroes who stepped up when needed. They were believers in the possibility when culture, tradition, and regulations said, “Do not even try.”

Moreover, many later spoke passionately about America’s greatness – proving their own over and over in other military conflicts, in business, community leadership, and opportunity creation.

Archer himself, after the war ended, threw himself into helping post-war America become a land of wider opportunity, only limits on dreams and how hard you are willing to work for them.

He became a corporate vice president of General Foods when blacks did not rise to such ranks. Later, he created the Beatrice Foods conglomerate and Archer Asset Management.  

Still, his heart was never far from those in uniform. In October 2005, at 86, he visited Iraq and stopped in on the 332 Air Expeditionary Wing. At age 90, he was an advisor to George Lucas on the movie “Red Tails,” about The Tuskegee Airmen and what they accomplished.

How did Archer do all that? From the beginning, he was candid – and intrepid. “I never thought about air-to-air combat as a big problem. I looked forward to it.” That answer to fear fits.

We lost Archer in 2010, but still have Harry Stewart, James Harvey, and George Hardy, as examples of what the American Dream and real patriotism – look like. Stewart, born on July 4, 1924, could fly before he could drive. He got a degree in mechanical engineering, finished his career as vice president of a pipeline company, and today lives in Michigan.

Harvey not only flew 140 combat missions in jets during the Korean War but retired after a career at Oscar Meyer, father of four girls, lives today in Colorado. Hardy, with 70 combat missions over Vietnam, had a military career, then gave speeches – like Archer – around the country, inspiring kids to can-do, talking courage, and patriotism.

So, what should we make of these men’s lives? Just this: American patriots, those who put it on the line, are of many types, and one spoke to Maine high schoolers years ago, left an impression.

Bottom line: That impression ended up in a letter, which caused me to dig deeper, and taught me that Lee Archer – and those Tuskegee Airmen – continue to speak to us and always will.

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC. Robert Charles has also just released an uplifting new book, “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024).