FROM THE DESK: Of Yonkers Newswire Journalist Brian Harrod.

YONKERS HISTORY: Lee Archer was born in the city of hills and is one of the famed Tuskeegee Airmen who fought during World War II?

YONKERS STRONG: During World War II, Lee Archer flew 169 combat missions, including bomber escort, reconnaissance and ground attack. He later flew missions during the Korean War, became a diplomatic officer at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and then became the headquarters chief of the U.S. Air Force Southern Command in Panama, eventually retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1970. In October 2005, Archer and four fellow Tuskegee veterans, retired pilot Lt. Colonel Robert Ashby, Retired Master Sgt James A. Sheppard, Retired Colonel Richard Tolliver, and retired Technical Sergeant George Watson Sr. visited Balad Air Base at Balad, Iraq, to meet with 700 servicemen from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, the successor unit to his all-black outfit. "This is the new Air Force," he told The Associated Press. In the dining room, he said, he saw "black, white, Asian, Pacific Islanders, people from different parts of Europe. This," he said, "is what America is." After retiring from the military, Archer joined General Foods Corporation in White Plains, N.Y. where he became one of the first black corporate vice presidents of a major U.S. company. Archer, aged 90, died at Cornell University Medical Center in New York City on January 27, 2010, as a result of coronary complications. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery..... https://www.facebook.com/groups/YonkersNewswire/posts/3521926631398223/