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07-21-09
New Rochelle
LIEUTENANT COLONEL LEE ANDREW “BUDDY” ARCHER, JR
. . . . A LIFETIME OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP
By
James R. Cluff, Major, USAF
Lieutenant
Colonel Lee A. “Buddy” Archer, Jr., was a member
of the famed Tuskegee Airmen during World War
II. His service for a country that did not treat
members of his race equally was exemplary. His
service during World War II, his follow-on Air
Force career and his successful business career
personify the concept of servant-leadership. As
the term indicates, to a servant-leader, the
concept of service comes first. Leadership
naturally flows as a means to expand the ability
to serve.
His service is not without some controversy. Lt
Col Archer is often referred to as the only
Tuskegee Airmen who was an Ace (a pilot who has
at least five aerial victories). The official US
Air Force records do not support this claim. Of
the numerous sources available on the Tuskegee
Airmen that the author reviewed none correctly
state the fact that the USAF does not recognize
Lt Col Archer as an Ace. Official histories for
the 332nd Fighter Group and the 302nd Fighter
Squadron, as well as interviews with Lt Col
Archer, formed the foundation for this research.
The issue of whether or not Lt Col Archer is an
ace has no bearing on his lifetime achievements
or on what current military leaders can learn
from him. As a servant-leader, he contributed
greatly to his air force, his race and his
country.
“This is what I hoped for in 1941 – 3,000 men
and women of every race and ethnicity and they
were fighting as one group. All of them were
doing any job and their assignment was based on
their capabilities. And as far as I was
concerned, it was
the
fulfillment of the wildest dream in the world: a
perfect ending.
Lee A. Archer, Jr.
The fighter pilot has
been held in awe since the earliest days of
World War I. It is the image of a cool-handed,
firm-jawed warrior, white scarf flowing in the
breeze, engaging in a fight to the death high
above the earth against our nation’s enemies
that often comes to mind when one speaks of the
fighter pilot. We expect the fighter pilot to be
bold and brash, to lead and to die if necessary.
Lee A. “Buddy” Archer, Jr. is a fighter pilot.
He is a black fighter pilot, which in World War
II meant that he fought racism abroad and racism
at home. He fought racism abroad by shooting
down German aircraft. He fought racism at home
by striving to be the best, by being a
servant-leader for his military service, for his
race and for his country.
As the term indicates, to a servant-leader, the
concept of service comes first. Leadership
naturally flows as a means to expand the ability
to serve. Robert Greenleaf, the main who first
coined the phrase, stated “The servant-leader is
servant first…it begins with the natural feeling
that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then
conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”2
Greenleaf asks of the effect (of this
servant-leadership) on the least privileged in
society; will they benefit or at least feel no
further deprivation.
Lt Col Archer’s service as a Tuskegee Airman, a
career United States Air Force officer and an
international businessman exemplified the
concept of the servant leader and directly
impacted the least privileged in society. He
joined the military in order to serve his
country, to make it a safer place for others. By
serving as a Tuskegee Airman, he became a
participant and leader in the struggle to bring
equal rights and opportunities for all
Americans. In his subsequent
business career
he provided the same dedicated service to his
corporations that he did to the US Air Force. He
was dedicated and motivated to succeed. By
successfully serving his employer, by attempting
to make a difference, he achieved tremendous
success. He became a leader in corporate
America, which provided an avenue to assist
minority owned businesses. Through a lifetime of
servant-leadership, Lt Col Archer made his
country a better place.
EARLY LIFE
“Patriotism is the first thing. You have an
obligation to do the best you can for your
country, especially when your country is in
trouble.” Lee A. Archer, Jr.
Lt Col Archer was
born in Yonkers, New York in 1921. As one of
nine children, including five older sisters, he
was raised primarily by his father after his
mother passed away when he 12. His father had
been a member of the famous Harlem Hell
Fighters, an all-black army unit that fought in
France during World War I.4 After the war, his
father became a businessman, but also was quite
active in politics. He ran the Tamini Hall
Democratic Club which made him a member of the
New York Department of Elections. Lt Col Archer
is of course very proud of his father, yet when
asked why he himself didn’t enter politics, his
response is “I had and still have a lot of
disrespect for politicians. It is regrettable
but true. My attitude would get me elected only
by revolutionaries…I believe in telling people
what you really think.”5
His family had a
home in Saratoga, which is where Lt Col Archer
spent many summers. His father felt that “three
months in the city with nothing to do, you were
bound to get in trouble. So every time school
ended all nine of his children were sent away;
they went up to Saratoga. We were out of the
city.”6 It was during a summer in Saratoga that
he got his first airplane ride, paying $5 to
ride in a barnstormer aircraft for about ten
minutes.
Lt Col Archer was
an excellent student, yet he claims he was a
“bad” smart young man. When talking with him,
one gets the impression that school bored him,
that it was not a challenge. His most memorable
teacher was Rebecca Edmond, his eighth grade
teacher. She always pushed him, remarking on one
occasion, “Buddy Archer, you can do better than
this.” To which Lt Col Archer responded “But I
got an A!” One instructor tried to get him to
join a trade school, telling him that he had the
potential to be a great postman. Mrs. Edmond
tore up the trade school application and pushed
him to test to attend a 1930s version of what
today would be considered a Magnet school,
DeWitt Clinton High School. He was accepted and
graduated from DeWitt Clinton at the age of 17.7
“I started
college, but Arnold Wilkins convinced me that we
should become Merchant Seamen.”8 Since he was
still not 18, Lt Col Archer used a cousin’s
birth certificate as proof of age and joined.
After about a year of ship duty, Lt Col Archer
still was not certain which path to his future
he should take. One night, the ship’s cook, who
had quit college 40 years earlier to “see the
world”, asked him why he was a merchant seaman.
“He actually beat up on me about it. He said
‘Hey Buddy, did you hear me?’ I replied that I
had heard him. He said ‘Hey Buddy, come here.’ I
went back to him and he said ‘Maybe I asked you
the wrong question. Did you understand me?’ I
went to bed that night, laid in my bunk with
another man sleeping six inches above my face,
got back to New York and quit being a merchant
seaman to go back to school.”9 His friend,
Arnold Wilkins, stayed aboard and was still a
merchant seaman thirty years later.
By 1941, Lt Col
Archer was a college sophomore studying
GeoPolitics at New York University.
Interestingly, he wrote a paper in 1941 that
described how he thought small countries should
battle larger, more powerful countries. His
paper, aimed at the Soviet Union, stated that if
fighting a country you can’t beat, resort to
some kind of terrorism. “Fight from the
bushes and hassle
them forever.”10 It was at this time that he
decided to join the United States Army,
specifically the Army Air Corps.11 “From WWI, I
was a fan, reading books about WWI, the aviation
and all the guys were heroic, they were all
handsome, they had long white scarves. I thought
it was the last of Gentleman Wars. People were
not down and dirty; if I ever get in the service
that is what I want to do.”12
Lt Col Archer
took the application tests with two Italian
friends. He passed it with better marks than
they, but they got called to join the Army Air
Corps and he did not. Obviously upset, he
grumbled and argued with the Army. He was
finally told by a young lieutenant “You applied
for the Army in hopes of getting into the Air
Corps. There is no colored organization in the
Air Corps and we don’t intend to have one. Since
you volunteered for the Army, though, you’re
in.”13 At that time, if a man wanted to join the
Air Corps, you filled out a generic application
to join the Army, and put a check mark against
the branch you were interested in. Since the
Army Air Corps had been part of the Signal Corps
for a long time, the Army took this to mean that
Lt Col Archer was interested in the
communications field and assigned him to Camp
Wheeler in Georgia to be a telegrapher and field
networks communication man in the infantry.14
Lt Col Archer
faced a dilemma. Should he continue with his
efforts to join the Army? His father, based on
his experienced in World War I, recommended he
go to Canada since he felt things would not
change. However, Lt Col Archer wanted to serve
his country. “This was my country and I can
[trace my lineage] back to before the
Mayflower.”15 This service would form the
backbone of his lifetime of servant-leadership.
By serving his country, at the time a country
that would not reciprocate his efforts, he set
an example for many. This service made him an
unofficial leader among his race. Little did he
know where this journey would ultimately lead
him.
ENLISTED
SERVICE
“Anybody with any
brains knew we were going to be in the war
sooner or later. And my idea of being in there
as an infantry man was kind of low.” Lee A.
Archer, Jr.
Lt Col Archer
underwent basic training not far from his home
at Camp Upton on Long Island, NY.17 Unlike the
conditions he would soon face in the deep south,
“all of us, black and white, trained together.”
After he graduated from basic training, he and
over 200 of his fellow privates were sent to
Camp Wheeler, Georgia. Lt Col Archer was named
the troop commander for the train ride to
Georgia. Once they arrived in Washington, DC,
they were in for quite a surprise. The group was
taken off the train, separated by race and
placed in separate cars. A white soldier, more
shocked then most, asked repeatedly “why should
this happen?”18 The officers told Lt Col Archer
he was no longer in charge and that he was to go
to the first car on the train.19
Lt Col Archer’s
recollections are quite poignant. “There you are
sitting in the station, looking at the White
House and the Capitol Building” and this
happens. “If they had started a revolution, I
would have joined. You don’t know how it gets
you. You’re heading away and you think you are
going to fight for your country.”20 Yet, seeing
all this, Lt Col Archer still wanted to fight
for his country and put forth great effort to be
the best soldier he could be.
At Camp Wheeler,
Lt Col Archer was assigned to the 16th Training
Battalion (colored). In 1941, Camp Wheeler was
in reality two separate bases – a white side and
a black side. The black side of the base was
over five miles from the main post. As a
telegrapher and network communication man, he
proved to be very capable. Within a year he was
an instructor and had risen to the rank of
acting Sergeant.
In April 1942 the
Army decided to start the Tuskegee Experiment.
Lt Col Archer received a letter asking if he was
still interested and if so was directed to apply
again. After applying and being accepted, the
Army decided that he was too valuable a
communications asset to let leave and would not
allow his transfer until he had trained his
replacement. He missed five classes at Tuskegee
before he was finally allowed to depart for
Alabama.21 He arrived in Tuskegee on Christmas
Day, 1942
TUSKEGEE
“In honoring the
Tuskegee Airmen, you honor the inherent
strengths of a nation where life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness is a right guaranteed
to all of us, regardless of race, color or
creed.” Lee A. Archer, Jr.
War clouds were
looming in 1937 when the War Department began to
seriously consider how to expand the Army in
anticipation of another world war. At the time,
there existed black infantry units, but no black
Army Air Corps units. The Army Air Corps
specifically excluded blacks from serving in its
units. When blacks applied for the Air Corps
Cadet Program, they received the following
information.
The Congress has
created several units of the Army exclusively
for colored troops but no colored tactical units
of the Air Corps have been authorized up to this
time. Consequently, no provision has been made
by the War Department for units to which the
colored race could be assigned to after their
completing the prescribed course of training to
become military pilots. Accordingly, favorable
consideration cannot be given your application
for flying cadet appointment at this time. The
supporting papers which accompanied your
application are returned herewith.
In the following
years, the Army Air Corps resisted War
Department plans to incorporate blacks. However,
by late 1940 it was forced to take steps to
remedy the existing situation. In December 1940
the Army Air Corps submitted a plan for the
establishment of black aviation units, which
would include a pursuit squadron, a base group
detachment, a weather and communication
detachment and a service unit. At this
point, a training location needed to be decided
upon.
Black leaders
desired that black trainees be integrated into
existing white facilities on the West Coast.25
Even worse in their eyes would be the
establishment of a segregated facility in the
south were racist attitudes were prevalent. Yet,
that is exactly what the Army Air Corps decided
upon. The existing Civilian Pilot Training
Program at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee,
Alabama would be leveraged as the primary
training program, and an Army Air Field would be
built nearby to support the advanced phases of
military flying training.
Yet, even with
this announced plan, the Army Air Corps
continued to deny applications from black
youths. By March 1941 they could no longer
resist the pressure from politicians such as
Harry Truman, and started accepting applications
from blacks. On March 25, 1941 the Selective
Service Headquarters stated “The War Department
has announced that pilots will be selected from
those who have completed the secondary course
offered by the Civil Aeronautics Authority. The
Negro pilots will be trained at Tuskegee,
Alabama, in connection with Tuskegee
Institute.”27 Concurrent with the announcement
regarding training black pilots, the 99th
Pursuit Squadron was activated, authorized a
complement of 400 officers and enlisted men.28
One Tuskegee veteran recalled “We were all glad
when news of the Tuskegee experiment broke in
the papers. At least we black fellows would have
a chance to fly. We were young; the politics of
the matter didn’t register just then. We – I –
wanted to fly, even if it was in segregated
units.”
The first class
of military pilot trainees at Tuskegee started
their training on July 19, 1941. This class had
twelve black cadets and one officer trainee,
Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.30 By the end of
the five week primary training period all but
five of them had washed out of training.31 There
was significant pressure and stress on all sides
– whites wanted the experiment to fail, while
the black students felt the pressure of fighting
for equality for their race. “We weren’t just
men learning how to fly complicated machines.
Every time we climbed into a plane, we were
carrying the weight of the entire black race on
our backs.”
When Lt Col
Archer arrived on Christmas Day, he did not know
exactly where the base was, so he walked to the
Tuskegee Institute. The old bath house at
Tuskegee Institute had been converted into a
barracks. It was here that he and his classmates
from Class 43G underwent preflight training for
approximately three weeks.33 After ground school
at Tuskegee, his class moved on to Molton Field,
a separate airfield used by the Institute for
civilian flying training. Once graduating from
“primary” training, they were moved on to
Tuskegee Army Airfield for “basic” and
“advanced” military flight training, followed by
fighter training. He was named Cadet First
Captain, setting an excellent leadership example
for his classmates.
Primary training
was accomplished in the PT-17, a biplane with
non-retractable landing gear, and instruction
provided by black instructors. Lt Col Archer’s
instructor was Roscoe Draper, a demanding man
who constantly kept his students on their toes.
Lt Col Archer recalls having to fly with his
legs far apart so that his knees wouldn’t get
bruised when Draper would slam the stick against
them for some infraction. “On my fourth hour he
screamed ‘land the goddamn airplane. I’ll never
fly with you again.’” Unsure of what to do, Lt
Col Archer asked for guidance. “Why don’t you
try soloing?” was Draper’s response. Lt Col
Archer soloed at four hours instead of the
normal ten. He set a standard for excellent
performance that would continue throughout
training; he never failed a checkride.
Once complete
with primary training at Molton Airfield, all
training at Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF) was
provided by white instructors. While there were
many instructors who
did not want the
black pilots to succeed, some approached the
training with professionalism one expects of
military aviation. The officer in charge of
basic flight training was Captain Gabe Hawkins.
He was from the south, and had what Lt Col
Archer called the accent and the look of a man
from that region. Yet, Lt Col Archer describes
him as “tough as nails, but honest.”36 After
finishing basic training in the BT-13 aircraft,
students moved on to the advanced phase, led by
Captain Robert M. Long. During the advanced
phase, they flew the much better performing AT6,
which had a 600 horsepower engine, landing flaps
and retractable landing gear.37 Once complete
with advanced training, those pilots selected
for fighters moved on to the P-40.
The training at
TAAF took on the personality of the commanding
officer. Colonel Frederick von Kimble was an
early commander of TAAF. While from the north,
he rigidly enforced segregation and “embraced
the customs of the Deep South with pleasure.”38
Bias and discrimination was rampant. He was so
difficult a commander that even the Chief of the
Army Air Corps, General Hap Arnold felt he had
to go and fired him.39 He was replaced on
December 26, 1942 by Colonel Noel E. Parrish.
Colonel Parrish was a soldier and a gentleman,
with understanding and patience. He read
extensively, met with Negro leaders, and talked
freely with everyone.
When he first
arrived, the students didn’t feel he was any
better than Colonel Kimble. At the first meeting
with students he introduced himself and stated
his mission was to teach students to fly. He
wasn’t going to cut them any breaks, but did
make one promise. “If you can fly, you will make
it; if you can’t, you’re gone. I will be
fair.”41 According to Lt Col Archer, no one
believed him. Yet, he must have made a
significant impression the students. Years
later, the highest scholarship honor of the five
that the Tuskegee Airmen organization bestows on
a student is named for Noel Parrish (the second
is named for Benjamin Davis). When asked by his
granddaughter why the award was named for
Parrish, Lt Col Archer replied “we picked the
man that was fair; being fair is probably the
highest thing in life.” He believes that Colonel
Parrish made the difference in the success
ultimately achieved by the 332nd Fighter Group (FG)
and the Tuskegee Airmen. “He was the first guy
we thought that ever treated us fairly…he set
the standard.”
On July 28, 1943,
Lt Col Archer graduated first in his class, 43G.
Assigned to the 302nd Fighter Squadron (FS), he
joined the squadron at Selfridge Field, Michigan
where the 332nd FG had moved to on March 27,
1943.43 On the October 7, 1943, Lt Col Benjamin
Davis returned from overseas where he commanded
the 99th Fighter Squadron and was named
commander of the 332nd FG. The next stop would
be combat over the skies of Europe. The only
question that remained was when.
COMBAT IN EUROPE
“Your job is to
keep enemy fighters away from the bombers. Your
job is not to shoot down enemy fighters and
become an ace.” Lt Col Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
The 332nd FG
departed Selfridge Field on December 22, 1943
for “destination unknown.” With more than a
little apprehension about what lay ahead, the
group arrived at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia on
Christmas Day, 1943. “This was indeed a strange
day for the men of the squadron. There was very
little talk concerning the holiday season.”45
Ten days later the unit was pronounced fit for
the next leg of their inexorably journey towards
destiny. “The morale of the men was high and
there was little outward evidence of the
emotions which must have been mingling in the
hearts and minds of the men” as they boarded the
Liberty ship T.B. Robinson on January 3, 1944.46
The group arrived safely at Taranto, Italy in
late January 1944 and by February 7, 1944
had established camp at Montecorvino Airbase. By
March 6, 1944 they had moved yet again,
establishing camp at Capodichino, Italy.
The 332nd would
endure numerous “administrative” trials and
tribulations in addition to engaging in combat
against the Germans. In the space of five months
they would fly three different aircraft in
combat, from three different bases,
accomplishing seven distinct missions for two
different numbered air forces. All of which was
accomplished with minimal training and few
combat experienced veterans to lead the unit.
For the men of
the 332nd, there was no such thing as a
transition sortie when you received a new combat
aircraft. You got in the airplane and flew a
mission. Lt Col Archer recalls picking up a P-47
from Tunis. “I went from Tunis to Italy to pick
them up. A guy shows me how to start it, pats me
on the head and said “it’s yours.” I flew it
back to Italy and the next day I had a combat
mission.”48 It was even true for the crew
chiefs. Unlike crew chiefs in other units who
many times were sent to a staging area for
training, the 332nd mechanics launched sorties
during the day and at night were sent to
training sessions in a tent to learn the new
aircraft.
Their first
missions, harbor/coastal patrol, air defense
scrambles, air-sea rescue and convoy escort,
where flown as part of 12th Air Force in P-39
Airacobras.50 The group had transitioned from
P-40s to P-39s in September 1943. This aircraft
had been given to the US by the British who were
dissatisfied with its performance. It had a
problem with stability, would respond
dangerously to tight turns, and would often
stall and spin. Most pilots considered it
unstable at slow speeds. Lt Col Archer remembers
that while it didn’t have adequate performance,
it was a beautiful airplane and “you could look
get in it!”51 However, looking good didn’t help
him over the beaches of Anzio when he tried to
chase down a German Junkers-88 aircraft. “I
lobbed 37 millimeter cannon shells at him until
I ran out of ammunition near Rome and he was
still outrunning me.”52 Eventually the US Army
grounded the P-39 and gave them to the Russian
Air Force.53 “This is why the Russians hate
us!”54 Yet, the US Army Air Corps initially had
no qualms about providing such sub-standard
aircraft to the Tuskegee Airmen.
In early May 1944
the group transitioned to the Republic P-47
Thunderbolt. Once again, the 332nd received used
equipment, yet these aircraft were a marked
improvement over the P-39s. On May 22, 1944 the
332nd FG was transferred from 12th Air Force to
15th Air Force, with a corresponding move to
Ramitelli Airbase on the Adriatic coast.55 Even
more importantly for the pilots of the 332nd,
this change meant a new mission – long range
bomber escort. It was flying these missions that
would make the “Red Tailed Angels”56 famous.
Lt Col Davis,
however, made it very clear that the 332nd’s new
mission was protecting the bombers, not shooting
down airplanes. He knew that there were many
within the Army who were out to get the Tuskegee
Airmen, no matter how well they did. If they did
not protect the bombers, their critics would
have highlighted this as a failure. Lt Col
Archer recalls comments by Lt Col Davis “I don’t
care if no one ever gets a victory if no one
ever becomes famous or gets to be a flying Ace.
Our job is to protect the bombers from enemy
fighters. Anybody who leaves them will answer to
me. Protect the bombers until the enemy fighters
are far enough away they can’t hurt the
bombers.”
The 302nd FS flew
its first P-47 combat mission on June 7, 1944,
led by their squadron commander 1Lt Melvin T.
Jackson.58 June saw the completion of the P-47
transition, which was not accomplished without
some tragedy. A 302nd pilot, 2Lt Elmer Taylor,
died on a transition sortie. Lt Col Archer was
appointed the Summary Court Officer for securing
and inventorying Lt Taylor’s personal effects.59
The end of June saw the 302nd make history when
Lt Pruitt and Lt Pierson were credited with
sinking a destroyer. The sinking of the ship by
a fighter wasn’t historic; the fact that it was
accomplished through strafing was.
Lt Col Archer
often paired with Lieutenant Wendell O. Pruitt
of St. Louis during missions. They quickly
become known as the “Gruesome Twosome” for their
exploits and accomplishments. One day while the
unit was transitioning to P-47s, they were
returning from a sortie and Pruitt decided to do
a victory roll over the field. At the same time,
an instructor pilot from Republic was giving a
class on the newly acquired P-47. “No sooner had
he finished his statement than “A” flight was
returning from its victorious mission. Down on
the deck, props cutting grass, came Lieutenants
Pruitt and his wingman Lee Archer, nearly
touching wings. Lieutenant Pruitt pulled up into
the prettiest victory roll you’d ever see, with
Archer right in his pocket, as the Major
screamed, “You can’t do that!”
Pruitt and Lt Col
Archer pushed each other throughout their tour
together. “I flew most of my missions with
Pruitt. I would have stayed forever, as long as
Pruitt was staying; Pruitt was staying as long
as I was staying.” Pruitt and Archer would hang
around the ops area on days when they weren’t
assigned to a mission and would take the place
of pilots who returned early with aircraft
problems.62 Pruitt returned home a month after
Lt Col Archer in late 1944. He later died in an
AT-6 at Tuskegee while on a cross country sortie
with a crew chief in the back seat. The crew
chief didn’t buckle in tightly enough and when
Pruitt rolled the aircraft after takeoff, the
crewchief fell forward and grabbed the throttle
to brace himself. In so doing, he pulled the
throttle to idle mere hundreds of feet above the
runway. What 167 combat missions couldn’t
accomplish a simple mistake by a crew chief
could.
On June 28, 1944,
the 302nd FS started to transition to the
aircraft that would make Lt Col Archer famous,
the North American P-51 Mustang.64 They flew
their first P-51 combat sortie on July 6, 1944.
From July to October 1944 Archer would shoot
down at least four German ME109s as well as
destroy numerous German aircraft on the ground.
Archer named his P-51 Ina the Macon Belle for
his fiancé, Ina Burdell. While he’ll quickly
tell you that P-51 was a very capable airplane
and got him home safely on a number of
occasions, his favorite aircraft will always be
“the jug” (P-47). On one mission, his P-51 ended
up with a hole in the wing the size of an ash
can. Lt Col Archer got the aircraft to the
Adriatic coast, but hesitated before taking the
aircraft across the water. He and Pruitt
discussed it for a number of minutes. Pruitt
stated that it looked okay to him, to which Lt
Col Archer replied “you’re not the one in the
airplane.” Eventually, Lt Col Archer made it
back to the base. His crew chief, the father of
USAF General Lester Lyles, exclaimed upon seeing
the aircraft “Jesus Christ lieutenant, look what
you done to my airplane!”
July 18, 1944
found the 332nd FG “furnishing penetration,
target cover and withdrawal for the 5th Bomb
Wing to Memmingen A/D.”67 66 aircraft took off
at 0750 and by the time all aircraft returned at
1325, eleven enemy aircraft had been downed and
one damaged. 30-35 Messerschmitt ME-109s, in
units of two and five, prepared to attack the
bombers. According to the unit records, “E/A
(enemy aircraft) were not aggressive in their
attacks, used poor evasive tactics.”68 Archer
was credited with downing one ME-109. He had
gotten his first air to air kill. The excitement
was short lived in that it would be over three
months before his next official victories.
As enemy
strategic targets are being reduced to a minimum
and Allied might piercing deeper into vulnerable
spots, our pilots received the call the strafe
railroad traffic from Budapest, Hungary to
Brataslavia, Slovakia. This once hot bed of
enemy agitation and activity is now one of
turmoil and desolation. With Col Davis leading
the group, we destroyed 9 aircraft in the air
and 26 on the ground, with an additional 16
damaged on the ground.
As the group
narrative above indicates, October 12, 1944 was
a great day for the 332nd
FG. For Buddy
Archer, this day would prove to be truly
special. At 1227 68 P-51s took off to strafe
German railroad traffic from Budapest to
Brataslavia. “The 302nd encountered the only A/C
for the day. In the ensuing encounters 3 HE-111s
and 6 ME-109s were destroyed and 2 ME-109s were
damaged. The engagement lasted 15 minutes and
ranged from 7000ft to deck level, from 300 yards
to 25 yards, and from 90 degree deflection shots
to dead astern…”70. Of those 6 ME-109s downed,
Buddy Archer was credited with three. His words
describe the encounters best.
We had just
crossed Lake Balaton when I spied a group of
enemy aircraft at two o’clock on the tree top.
These planes were just beginning to take off
from an enemy airfield. He (Lt Pruitt) reeled
off from the formation, rolled his plane over,
and dived for the enemy aircraft. I followed
close behind him as he made two passes at a
HE-111…In the meantime, Pruitt made a third pass
at the enemy plane and as he pulled up I noticed
the enemy plane smoking. I followed Pruitt’s
victim and gave him a long burst and the ship
disintegrated in the air. However, I couldn’t
claim this victory because Pruitt had damaged
the plane so badly that it was only a matter of
seconds before it would have spun into the
ground.
“Just after we
had destroyed our first plane, Pruitt noticed
the formation of enemy planes coming directly
toward us. Instead of avoiding them, Pruitt flew
directly into the formation with his guns
blazing away. We made a tight turn and fell in
behind three enemy aircraft. After getting
within shooting distance I fired a couple of
short bursts at one of the planes. My fire was
accuate and I tore off the wing of the plane…At
this time a ME-109 came in from the left and
slid in behind Pruitt, who was now on the tail
of a third enemy plane. I immediately pulled up
behind him and gave a few short bursts, the
plane exploded, throwing the pilot out of the
cockpit and then fell to the ground. Pruitt was
still chasing the plane he had lined up.
However, on his third burst his guns jammed. As
I pulled up beside him I could see him fiddling
with his controls trying to start his guns.
Seeing that Pruitt wasn’t getting any results, I
told him to move over and let a man shoot who
could shoot. I gave the enemy plane a long
burst. I don’t know whether he was damaged by
Pruitt or not, but he appeared to be trying to
land. I opened up at ground level, hit him with
a long volley and he crashed. Flak and small
arms fire forced me out of there in a hurry.
As he started
back towards Ramitelli, Archer discovered that
his plane was damaged. Pruitt escorted his to a
landing on the Isle of Vis. He replaced his
propeller with one from a junked airplane and
returned to base the next day.
Lt Col Archer’s
experiences in Europe as part of the Tuskegee
Airmen were not without controversy. Many
historians and politicians, some who claim to be
speaking from “official” sources, state that Lt
Col Archer is an ace, having shot down five
enemy aircraft. The Air Force Historical
Research Agency is the US Air Force’s official
repository for historical data and is the only
agency that can declare a US Air Force pilot an
ace. This author reviewed 302nd FS and 332nd FG
records, as well as 15th Air Force General
Orders. This documentation provides references
for only four victories. The victory in question
reportedly occurred on July 20, 1944. On that
day the 332nd provided long range escort for
three bomb wings striking Friederichshafen.76
Charles E. Francis’ history of the Tuskegee
Airmen states that “The plane Lt Bussey was
following made a steep diving turn in front of
Archer. Archer fell in behind it with Bussey
following on his wing. They chased the enemy
until he crashed into the side of a mountain
after being hit by a volley from Archer’s guns.”
According to Army
Air Force policy at that time, confirmation of a
kill was required before it was officially
credited to a pilot. That confirmation could
come from a second eyewitness report or gun
camera footage. The official 332nd FG history
for July 20 claims four aircraft destroyed by
group pilots. Lt Bussey and Lt Archer were not
one of those four. Jerry Stutts, a British
aviation writer claims that after Lt Archer got
this three kills in October that made him an ace
(if one credits a kill on July 20 to Archer),
the Army was not prepared to have a black ace.
He believes they “reexamined” Archer’s first
kill and reduced it to a shared kill.78 The
official records submitted by the 332nd FG do
not support this contention. The source
documents reviewed by this author show no
apparent indications of tampering or
“reexamination.”
Lt Col Archer
recalls his second victory occurring a week
after his first. This is the one that “they have
trouble with.”79 He and Pruitt were flying
together and Pruitt had a gun malfunction. “I
noticed he had the guy dead in his sights, then
I took the shot. In the squadron it is there;
suddenly it was a half [credit].” When asked if
he wanted to contest the issue, he replied no.
“That and two dollars will get you in the
subway, and I got two bucks and I can get in the
subway without being an ace. The President has
recognized it and said I was. The President of
France said their records indicate it and a
German guy said they have all the records and
their records indicate it. It hasn’t made a hell
of a difference to me.”80 The victory recounted
above sounds very similar to the events of
October 12th when Lt Col Archer shot down three
aircraft. Yet given that Lt Col Archer often
flew with Pruitt, and fighter guns in World War
II often jammed, it is very plausible that he
got multiple kills when Pruitt was unable to
fire his weapons.
Would Lt Col
Davis, a known stickler for the rules and a
fierce protector of the Tuskegee Airmen, have
allowed one of his men to be denied ace status
through the doctoring of records, specifically
records that he himself would have approved for
submittal to higher headquarters? It is
impossible to believe that Lt Col Davis would
have knowingly allowed false information to be
passed on to higher headquarters. The author
believes that the most plausible story is that
Lt Col Archer is in fact an ace. Whether that
victory occurred on July 20, 1944 is immaterial.
Given the tremendous number of sorties flown by
Lt Col Archer, the odds are that a kill was not
credited to him for any number of reasons: gun
camera film being unavailable, another pilot did
not see his victory, or perhaps he allowed
credit for a kill to be given to another pilot.
Whether or not Lt Col Archer is an official ace
does not diminish in any way the tremendous
bravery, dedication and leadership he
demonstrated while fighting for his country.
In November 1944,
Archer completed his tour of duty and was able
to return home. He had flown 169 combat missions
over 11 countries. The 169 missions were far and
away more than the vast majority of fighter
pilots in the European theater flew. Lt Col
Archer’s flight records have recently been
provided to the Library of Congress. Those
forms, which account for every flight from the
very first flight at Tuskegee, list Lt Col
Archer’s European Theater sorties at 229.81
Whatever the number of missions he flew, it was
far above the norm. The standard for the theater
was the bomber crews rotated home after 25
missions and fighter pilots after 50.82 There
were many Tuskegee pilots who flew over one
hundred missions. The Tuskegee training pipeline
was not able to produce enough black pilots to
allow combat pilots to return home after 50
missions. 926 pilots graduated from Tuskegee and
450 became fighter pilots. Of those, 32 became
prisoners of war and 66 were killed. Lt Col
Archer observed they had to break up the 302nd
and distribute the other pilots between the
three other squadrons because we were getting no
replacements. That’s why people like myself,
Wendell Pruitt and Charles McGee got over 100
missions. If you decided to go home after 50
missions, you had to go in and listen to Ben
Davis, with the violins playing in the
background saying ‘If you leave…’
Even if he could
go home, Lt Col Archer wonders what he would
have gone home to. There was still no
integration of the services. Escorting bombers
and shooting down airplanes in Europe was how he
was going to make a difference for his country.
During his time in Europe he was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross and numerous air
medals, attesting to his bravery and dedication.
By the end of his
tour, he was the squadron’s assistant operations
officer. Given that there were limited personnel
rotating home, the chances for promotion within
the squadron was limited. “You couldn’t get
promoted (to flight leader, flight commander,
operations officer, etc.) unless the guy above
you got killed or died; so you can’t spend your
time your whole day hoping guys get wracked up
or something.” In fact, all three of Lt Col
Archer’s tent mates died while he was in the
European Theater.
As an interesting
aside, the man that Lt Col Archer admired most
in his unit only flew seventeen missions. On the
18th mission, this man told the commander that
he couldn’t fly the mission that day. The
commander agreed and said he would put that
pilot on the schedule for the next day. “The
pilot said ‘Don’t put me on tomorrow, either. I
am not going to fly anymore.’ This was done in
front of 72 other pilots. Would you do it? Say
you are not going to fly combat in front of
those other guys? That took more guts than
walking to the airplane for a mission.”
RETURN HOME
I am proud to say
that the Air Force [integrated] immediately,”
said the colonel. “The other services took some
time, some up to three years. But the Air Force
was the leader in giving equal opportunity and
equal treatment to people of other ethnic or
racial backgrounds.
Lee A. Archer,
Jr.
As the war in
Europe drew to a close, the Red Tailed Angels
prepared to return to home, having successfully
validated the Tuskegee Experiment. Between
August 1944 and April 1945 the 332nd accounted
for well over a quarter of the total kills by
the four (Mustang) groups (in 15th AF) in fewer
missions and fewer encounters with enemy
aircraft. “And, uniquely among the USAAF’s
fighter groups, the 332nd could claim never to
have lost a bomber in its charge.”86 Said one
B-24 pilot - “We were very comfortable with the
‘Red Tails’; we thought they were the best
fighter escort we could get. We had no idea they
were black – it was the Army’s best kept
secret!”
Yet the 332nd
returned to find discrimination and racism still
rampant at Tuskegee. The warriors that had
distinguished themselves in combat in Europe
were in their minds once again second class
citizens in their own country. The "Tuskegee
Experiment," Lt Col Archer noted, proved that
African-American pilots could fly and fight as
well as their white counterparts and played a
key role in Truman's decision to desegregate the
U.S. military, which in turn opened up
opportunities for all African-Americans.
What was Lt Col
Archer’s role within the context of the
experiment? When he joined the Army, he did it
because he was told he couldn’t. “It was “in
your face, baby;” I didn’t go there to save the
world or change society and humanity. My father
had tried and failed and I didn’t think I was as
good a man as him.” He recounts a conversation
with Lt Daniel “Chappie” James during which he
told Chappie he was going to intentionally fail
a test at Tuskegee so he could go home. Lt James
said “Look Lee, quitting isn’t the thing. You’ve
got the right to argue, bitch, do anything you
want…demand your rights. But when the country is
in trouble, no matter how she got there, you
hold her hand. When she’s not in trouble again,
you go back to bitching and arguing.”89 Lt Col
Archer served his country because he felt that
was the correct thing to do. In so doing, he
succeeded when the odds were stacked against
him. His service and success allowed him to
become a leader – a leader within his race,
within his profession and within his service. By
becoming such a leader, he was able to make a
difference and change our society. This
leadership would not have been possible without
his service as a Tuskegee Airman.
AIR FORCE CAREER
"Why should it be
notable that you're the first? It doesn't mean
you were the first who was capable. It just
means you were the first to be given the
chance." Lee A. Archer, Jr.
Once he returned
to the United States, Lt Col Archer was sent
Tuskegee to be the Chief of the Instrument
Instructor School. However, this job only lasted
two days! During this time, the “first
integration” of the Army occurred, and it had
nothing to do with color. Prior to this poit,
only graduates of West Point and Annapolis were
given Regular commissions. The services lost so
many officers during the war that they
established a plan for non-academy graduates to
be given Regular commissions. Soon after
arriving at Tuskegee, Lt Col Archer was told he
was being sent to interview for a Regular
commission. While most other officers were sent
to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, he
was sent to an army base near Atlanta.
It appeared that
he was being singled out, so Lt Col Archer
approached the interview with the mindset that
he was going to be shafted. So, he figured he
had nothing to lose if he just answered the
questions truthfully and succinctly. “I sat
before nine officers and they interviewed me for
two hours, even trying the Good Guy, Bad Guy
routine.” When he returned to Tuskegee, Colonel
Davis called him and demanded to know what had
happened. He had received nine out nine votes
and was given a regular commission!
Soon thereafter
he received a letter from Air University stating
that since he had not finished college and now
had a regular commission, the Army was going to
send him back to school to get his degree. He
chose to attend the University of California at
Los Angeles and for the next four years was a
full time student. He maintained his flying
proficiency by flying F-80s from March Air Force
Base for four hours every month.
After graduating
in 1949, he and his family were sent to Guam
where he flew as an instructor pilot in B-29
weather reconnaissance aircraft. From Guam he
flew missions over Korea during the Korean War.
From Guam, he returned home to New York and was
an assistant professor of air sciences at New
York University. From New York he proceeded to
Alabama and graduated from Air Command and Staff
College in 1957.
After his time in
Alabama, he returned to Europe where over the
next five years he served in numerous positions,
including commanding Orly and Bordeaux Air Bases
in France. “I was surprised, as a major and
lieutenant colonel I commanded bases.” His
toughest challenge occurred at Orly when he got
to have the job when his predecessor was fired.
He was told he had the job until a new commander
was found. The position was supposed to be
filled by a colonel, yet he was only a major. He
held the job for two years. He faced a lot of
little problems, mostly “people thinking they
are more important than they are. When you are
dealing with the head of the Central
Intelligence Agency or the President, a
brigadier general may think he is important, but
has no idea the things you are doing goes well
beyond him.” His efforts as a base commander and
as the White House operations officer for
Europe, with a special focus on liaison with the
French, culminated in his being awarded the
Honors of the City of Paris, only the second
American to get it.
Lt Col Archer
spent the last ten years of his career working
in joint jobs at North American Air Defense
Command and United States Southern Command where
his career culminated as the Deputy Commander of
Bases. By the time he retired he had been
personally decorated by Presidents Eisenhower,
Kennedy and Johnson for “for doing a good job…or
maybe I am just lucky.”
BUSINESS SUCCESS
"I have had a
really remarkable career. I bought companies for
the company and, as a sideline I helped African
American companies start businesses." Lee A.
Archer, Jr.
Like most
successful military officers, Lt Col Archer just
wanted to make a difference. The same held true
in his business dealings. He wanted to work hard
and be successful – to be that dedicated servant
that servant-leadership is based upon. My goal
was to “be a good businessman, help my company.
It was a job and you do the best you can. That
is how I took the wars, it was a job. You’re
asked to do it and you do it…and if you do a
job, you should do the best you can.”
As he was
approaching the end of his military career, Lt
Col Archer was approached by General Foods CEO
Tex Cook to be the company's vice president of
urban affairs. He signed on; "A friend of mine
would always say, 'When opportunity knocks, have
your bags ready because he may not knock again.'
"99 He quickly found the job unfulfilling and
marginalizing--it carried no bottom-line
responsibilities. General Foods had felt the
minority market was not being adequately
represented and that had been the motivation for
hiring Lt Col Archer as the Manager of Urban
Affairs. He traveled around the country, talking
about Tang and Jello with minority groups. He
finally asked himself “is this what you want to
do? You’re not doing anything for society.”
After a year in
the post, "I walked in one day and said [to
Cook], 'If I can't do better than this, I don't
want [the job].'" The CEO, sitting with some
senior managers, shot back, "We were waiting for
you to bitch." Lt Col Archer wanted financial
responsibility.101 For a short time he was
placed on the board of a General Foods’ minority
investment subsidiary, Vanguard Capital
Corporation. About three months later, he was
called again to Tex Cook’s office. Lt Col Archer
had asked so many
questions and had “been nothing but trouble,”
the President of Vanguard wanted him off the
board. He was removed from the board, but
sent to the University of Pittsburg to study
financial management. As soon as he returned, he
became the President of Vanguard Capital
Corporation.
By 1975 he had
been elected Corporate Vice President, as well
as the CEO of the North Street Capital
Corporation, the General Foods’ small-business
investment arm. As the CEO, he played a key role
in the General Foods acquisition of Kraft
Foods.103 Over the next ten years he rapidly
moved his way up through General Foods’
subsidiaries. By 1985 Lt Col Archer was part of
a group that acquired McCall Pattern Company,
which was sold profitably in 1987 in order to
make a Leveraged Buy-Out of Beatrice
International Food Companies, Inc. Since 1987,
he has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
of Archer Associates, LTD, a venture capital
holding corporation.
Lt Col Archer’s
business success can hardly be surprising. He
approached his second career with the same zeal
and aggressiveness that he demonstrated in his
military career. He is proud of the good he was
able to do as he became more and more
successful. “I thought I had the stick in my
hand why not help the other ones?” He directly
contributed to the start up of 74 minority
businesses, as well as a number of white
companies. Semi-retired, he is currently active
in a number of civic and educational
organizations. He has served on the Boards of
Atlanta University, North Carolina Central
University, Brookdale Institute for Human
Development, Hofstra University School of
Business, the International Amateur Athletic
Association (IAAA) as Vice Chairman and The
World Africa Chamber of Commerce (former
Chairman). He has traveled overseas extensively
visiting troops, to include two visits to his
former unit, the 332nd Expeditionary Wing,
currently located at Balad Air Base, Iraq. "This
country can be what it is supposed to be, and
what it claims to be," Archer said. "It is in
the hands of new troops now, and I want to wish
them luck. I personally see the best for them
and for their country, which is my country,
too," he concluded.106
CONCLUSION
"Lead the way for
people coming behind you. You lead the way by
first getting a good education. There’s nothing
better than being well-educated and experienced.
The basis you’re forming now will be what you
build on later in your life." Lee A. Archer, Jr.
Lee A. “Buddy”
Archer, Jr. is a very confident man and some may
argue that it is arrogance. It is more than
that. He is a man who understands his ability,
as well as the abilities of those around him,
and will not make excuses if one does not
measure up (to include himself). Lt Col Archer
is a true American hero. He was a war hero,
fighting for a country that wasn’t ready to
fight for the rights of his race. Yet, he was
much more than that. He served his country, and
through this service provided a leadership
example that should be emulated by all
Americans, not just black Americans.
When he speaks to
groups about leadership, he provides what he
calls an “Anecdotal History of the USAF and one
of its people.” He provides four points for
leaders to contemplate. First, fairness is a
great thing. In his mind, there is no better
compliment than to be called a fair man. One
only has to remember the Tuskegee Airmen’s
treatment by Colonel Noel Parrish to understand
this notion. Second, you are who you are because
of the people below you that support you and
make you successful. A great leader treats his
subordinates well – they will make or break you.
You’re nothing if they don’t support you; this
is something that Lt Col Archer believes leaders
tend to forget. Third, it is the leader’s job to
make sure things keep improving and getting
better. This includes education for leader and
subordinate alike. Fourth, you will be surprised
at the late payments you will receive. By this
he means you shouldn’t do things for the reward;
do things the right way because that is how they
should be done. If you do things right and take
care of your people, you will be “paid back”
many times over, often when you least expect it.
He feels he is the classic example of a bad
start, a long period of doing the best he could
and his late payments have been tremendous.
Lt Col Archer’s
leadership thoughts echo the tenants of servant
leadership. By choosing to serve first, be that
his country, his service or his corporation, he
was able to place himself in a position to be an
effective leader in all three environments. The
lesson that Robert Greenleaf asks as part of his
concept of servant-leadership is indicative of
Lt Col Archer’s efforts in life. “The best test
is: do those served grow as persons; do they,
while being served, become healthier, wiser,
freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves
to become servants? And, what is the effect on
the least privileged in society; will they
benefit, or, at least, will they not be further
deprived?” As a Tuskegee Airman, an air force
officer and a successful businessman, Lt Col
Archer’s efforts ensured his race, often the
“least privileged in society,” were not further
deprived. In so doing, his efforts contributed
to our nation as a whole being able to benefit
from the abilities of African-Americans. He made
our country stronger and a better place to live.
Editor's Note: Lt
Col Archer has lived in New Rochelle, NY for
many years and is nearing 90 years of age. He
still travels across the country in military
aircraft to deliver speeches and to received
awards continually bestowed on him by many.
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