[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 21004-21005]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      SALUTE TO LIEUTENANT COLONEL LEE A. ARCHER, JR., USAF (RET.)

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, tomorrow night I have the privilege of 
speaking at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum's 17th 
Annual Salute Reception and Dinner in my hometown of Detroit. This 
event is held each year at the museum to present an outstanding 
individual with a Distinguished Achievement Award. This year's honoree 
is Lieutenant Colonel Lee A. Archer, who was one of the original 
Tuskegee Airmen. He is being honored for his exemplary military, 
corporate executive, and entrepreneurial careers.
  Colonel Archer was born in 1921 and enlisted in the Army in 1941. He 
received his commission after training at the Tuskegee Army Air Field 
in Alabama and was assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group. He successfully 
flew 169 combat missions over central and southern Europe and had 4.5 
confirmed aerial victories. He modestly shared credit with another 
pilot for the first victory but a subsequent review indicated that he 
deserved full credit and the coveted status of ``Ace.'' He received the 
Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with 18 Oak Leaf Clusters 
and numerous other awards over the course of his Active Duty career, 
which lasted 29 years.
  These tremendous accomplishments would probably satisfy most people. 
But Colonel Archer has since gone on to have an equally successful 
business career. After retiring from the Air Force, he joined the 
General Foods Corporation in 1970 and became a director just 1 year 
later. In 1975, he was elected corporate vice president of General 
Foods. Over the years, he also served as president, chairman, and chief 
executive officer, CEO, of Vanguard Capital Corporation; chairman and 
CEO of Hudson Commercial Corporation; and Chairman and CEO of Archer 
Associates, LTF, a venture capital

[[Page 21005]]

holding corporation. This is just a partial listing, and doesn't 
include his numerous civic activities and board memberships.
  Colonel Archer, along with his fellow Tuskegee Airmen, and the other 
members of the ``Greatest Generation'' who fought in the Second World 
War have earned our Nation's enduring respect and gratitude for their 
heroic and selfless deeds in defense of our country, our freedoms, and 
our way of life.
  Regrettably, the Tuskegee Airmen faced rigid segregation and a 
prevailing prejudice that questioned their ability to serve as Airmen 
and prevented them from training and working with their white 
counterparts. But they certainly proved their mettle. Led by the 
recently departed General Benjamin O. Davis, the first black general in 
the Air Force; Colonel Archer; and so many other valiant men, the 
Tuskegee Airmen flew over 15,500 sorties, completed over 1,500 combat 
missions, and downed over 260 enemy aircraft. They even sank a German 
destroyer in the harbor of Trieste, Italy. Amazingly, no bomber 
escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen was ever downed by enemy aircraft.
  All in all, 992 men graduated from pilot training at Tuskegee during 
World War II, 450 of whom were sent overseas for combat assignment. One 
hundred and fifty men made the supreme sacrifice for our Nation and 
were killed while in training or on combat missions. Thirty-two downed 
Airmen were taken as prisoners of war.
  Collectively, the Tuskegee Airmen received 3 Presidential Citations, 
95 distinguished flying crosses, 8 purple hearts and 14 bronze stars.
  Upon returning home from war, these Airmen found a society still 
deeply segregated. The Tuskegee Airmen themselves remained segregated 
from the larger military and were unable to provide their skills and 
aptitude to other units that were in dire need of qualified airmen. It 
was not until President Truman issued Executive Order 9981 that 
segregation was ended in the United States Armed Services. This 
Executive Order played a vital role in the subsequent integration of 
our Nation. The valor and dedication of the Tuskegee Airmen played a 
vital role in changing our Nation's attitude toward integration and 
racial diversity.
  The author and historian Edith Hamilton, commenting on the works of 
the ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus, said, ``Life for him was an 
adventure; perilous indeed, but men are not made for safe havens.'' 
Certainly, life for Lee Archer has been an adventure, perilous indeed. 
Certainly, Lee Archer was not made for safe havens; nor has he ever 
sought them. All Americans are the better for it.

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