MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2010

By: Representatives Bondurant, Calhoun To: Rules

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 63

1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LIFE, LEGACY AND 2 ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF RETIRED AIR FORCE LIEUTENANT 3 COLONEL AND EXPRESSING DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS FAMILY 4 AND FRIENDS UPON HIS PASSING. 5 WHEREAS, retired Lieutenant Colonel 6 Lee Archer, an American hero, loving husband, devoted father, 7 warrior, gentleman, man of God and decorated veteran of both the 8 and United States Air Force, departed this 9 earthly life on Wednesday, January 27, 2010, at the age of 90

10 years, to enter into eternal rest, bringing great sorrow and loss 11 to his family and friends; and 12 WHEREAS, having served his country in many capacities as a 13 groundbreaking Tuskegee Airman, a decorated fighter pilot and a 14 highly respected officer, Lieutenant Colonel Archer, was born on 15 September 6, 1919, in Yonkers, , raised in the Harlem 16 District, and was a student at in 1941 when, 17 motivated by patriotism, he enlisted in the United States Army

18 just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor with the intention of 19 joining the Army Air Corps; and 20 WHEREAS, hindered from becoming a pilot at that time by

21 stringent segregationist rules of the United States Army, he 22 trained in the infantry and then as a signalman, but as soon as 23 the Army decided to form an all-African-American fighter group, 24 after a series of legislative maneuvering, he volunteered and in 25 December 1942 was accepted for pilot training and was sent to

26 Morton Field in Tuskegee, , and became one of the notably 27 acclaimed ; and

H. C. R. No. 63 *HR07/R1914* N1/2 10/HR07/R1914 PAGE 1 (DJ\HS) 28 WHEREAS, graduating in July 1943 first in his class, 29 Lieutenant Colonel Archer was commissioned as a 30 and assigned to the of the 332nd Fighter 31 Group, the Army Air Force's first all-African American sent to the 32 European Theater of Operations and stationed in , flying the 33 Bell P-39 on ground attack missions before converting to the P-51

34 Mustang; and 35 WHEREAS, of the 332nd Fighter Group 36 painted the tails of their P-51 Mustang fighter planes a bright 37 red so they could be easily seen and known, garnering them the 38 name "," and was mainly assigned to duty escorting heavy 39 bombers on missions to the Balkans, Hungary, Northern Italy, 40 Romania, Austria and Southern Germany, and developing a reputation 41 as one of the war's most effective fighter escort groups; and

42 WHEREAS, the Tuskegee Airmen were credited with shooting down 43 109 enemy planes, five of them by Lee Archer, thus making him the 44 only African-American pilot "Ace" of World War II and leading the 45 outstanding performance of combat duty which helped destroy racial 46 stereotypes and was an important part of the subsequent ending of 47 racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces in 1948; and 48 WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Archer decided to remain in the 49 Air Force after the end of World War II and retired in 1970,

50 receiving recognition by the United States Army Air Corps for his 51 distinguished service by being awarded the Distinguished Flying 52 Cross, the Air Medal with 18 clusters and a Distinguished Unit 53 Commendation; and 54 WHEREAS, at the conclusion of his military career, Lieutenant 55 Colonel Archer entered the business world rising to senior 56 management positions at General Foods Corporation, becoming one of 57 the era's few African-American vice presidents of major American 58 companies before retiring and founding Archer Asset Management, a

59 venture capital firm; and

H. C. R. No. 63 *HR07/R1914* 10/HR07/R1914 PAGE 2 (DJ\HS) 60 WHEREAS, in 2005, in an effort to boost the morale of United 61 States servicemen and women, Lieutenant Colonel Archer and three 62 of his Tuskegee colleagues made an iconic flight to Iraq to 63 address active duty airmen serving in the current 332nd Fighter 64 Group; and 65 WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Archer's life's timeline allowed

66 him to see the service of Tuskegee Airmen fully, if belatedly, 67 acknowledged in March 2007, when approximately 350 airmen and 68 widows received the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor from 69 President George W. Bush at a ceremony in the United States 70 Capitol; and 71 WHEREAS, the present-day 99th Flying Training Squadron's 72 aircraft are adorned with red tails in honor of the Tuskegee 73 Airmen, many streets and parklands bear their name, in August

74 2008, the City of Atlanta officially renamed a portion of the 75 state's Route 6 in their honor and on December 9, 2008, Lieutenant 76 Colonel Archer and the remaining Tuskegee Airmen were invited to 77 attend the inauguration of President Barack Obama; and 78 WHEREAS, there can be no greater measure of success than to 79 say that a person's life made the world a better place, and the 80 measure of Lieutenant Colonel Archer's success cannot yet be 81 taken, because the profound impact upon his family and friends

82 will continue to be his legacy of strength, responsibility, 83 integrity and faith for generations; and 84 WHEREAS, remaining humble in every aspect of life, making no 85 mention of his own distinguished career, Lieutenant Colonel Archer 86 shared his family with the community and the nation, and that deep 87 family pride and support provided the foundation upon which the 88 building blocks of confidence and success were solidly grounded; 89 and 90 WHEREAS, honored by the American Fighter Pilots' Association,

91 Lieutenant Colonel Archer was described by a colleague as 92 "extremely competent, sometimes stubborn but with a heart of gold. H. C. R. No. 63 *HR07/R1914* 10/HR07/R1914 PAGE 3 (DJ\HS) 93 He treated people with respect and demanded respect by the way he 94 carried himself."; and 95 WHEREAS, hailed as a legend of his time, Lieutenant Colonel 96 Archer, in 1996, lost his wife, Ina, whose name adorned the nose 97 of his Mustang and will be remembered for his genteel spirit and 98 genuine concern for a better quality of life and education for

99 all, and his legacy and memory will forever thrive in the hearts 100 and minds of his survivors: his three sons; a daughter; 101 grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends; and 102 WHEREAS, Mississippi is proud to have been called home to ten 103 Tuskegee Airmen, all of whom were Second Lieutenants: Leonelle A. 104 Bonam, Herbert E. Carter, Oliver M. Dillon, Walter M. Downs, John 105 L. Hamilton, Wellington O. Irving, Eddie A. McLaurin, Luke J. 106 Weathers, Quitman C. Walker and Edward L. Toppins; and

107 WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to commend the 108 lives of such notable and humble individuals as Lieutenant Colonel 109 Archer, whose life will forever be remembered in the history of 110 this nation, and who inspired countless numbers to strive 111 diligently to achieve their dreams: 112 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF 113 REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING 114 THEREIN, That we do hereby commend the life of the legendary

115 Tuskegee Airman, astute soldier and devout American, Lieutenant 116 Colonel Lee Archer, and extend deepest sympathy to his family and 117 friends upon his passing. 118 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be 119 furnished to the family of Lieutenant Colonel Archer and to the 120 members of the Capitol Press Corps.

H. C. R. No. 63 *HR07/R1914* 10/HR07/R1914 ST: Lt. Col. Lee Archer; commend life and PAGE 4 (DJ\HS) legacy as acclaimed Tuskegee Airman upon his passing.