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Herman Archer was born in Chicago, IL, on 6 Feb 1930, the
son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Archer. The family moved to the Los Angeles area
after Herman graduated from Lane Technical High School in Chicago. At Lane Tech,
he was active in various clubs and won a scholarship award. He was a premed
student at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he played freshman
basketball before enlisting in the Regular Army. He then received a Regular Army appointment to West Point and
joined the Corps of Cadets on 5 Jul 1950.
We always knew him as “Bruno.” I don’t recall the origin of his
nickname. Perhaps he brought it with him from his youth in Chicago. I was fortunate to have known him since our days
together at Stewart Field, Newburgh, NY, where the U.S. Military Academy
Preparatory School was located at that time. We were both Regular Army privates
first class and played together on the Prep School basketball team. He
frequently mentioned Lane Tech as a basketball powerhouse in Chicago,
runner-up for the 1947 City Championship, and was proud of his time there. He
was a scrappy starter, while I was on the bench most of the time. I still
remember him at late night poker games on an Army blanket in the Day Room. The
games
were long and the stakes were low, with our eighty bucks a month
pay at risk. Bruno was intent on getting into West Point and playing for the
Brave Old Army Team. It really drove him. He did play intramural basketball
during his short time in the Corps.
He accomplished the first objective, entering the Academy with
our Class of 1954. I was privileged to be his roommate for his time at the
Academy. His pursuit of a slot on the team was never fulfilled, as he met a
tragic and untimely death on 30 Dec 1951 in the crash of the Air Force C-47
carrying him and 18
other cadets (eleven from the Class of 1954) back from Christmas
leave in California. As a result of bad weather and navigational instrument
problems, the C-47 hit the side of
Armer Mountain, northeast of Phoenix, AZ, at 6500 feet. There
were no survivors.
On 5 Jan 1952, the Superintendent, MG Frederick Irving, issued
General Order Number 13, Announcement of Death, which stated:
It is the sad duty of the Superintendent to announce the death of
Cadet Herman Archer, a member of the Class of 1954, United States Corps of
Cadets, whose death occurred in an aircraft accident in the State of Arizona on
30 Dec 1951. Throughout his cadetship at West Point, Cadet Archer was a most
popular and highly regarded member of his class. He at all times justified his
appointment to the United States Military Academy and was in all respects a
credit to the Corps
of Cadets.
The Superintendent, personally and in behalf of the Corps of
Cadets, the Officers and Enlisted Men of the United States Military Academy,
desires to convey to the bereaved parents
and relatives of Cadet Archer, the sincere condolences of all
at West Point who knew this splendid young gentleman. His
regrettable and unfortunate demise is a very definite loss to
this institution and to the United States Army.
Those of us who knew Bruno well will concur with that opinion. He
was a fine man just starting on his chosen career in the profession of arms.
His roommate, Ike Coron
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