At Age 91, Air Force Veteran Archie Harper Is Black History.

From Angela Harper, daughter of Archie Harper
Archie Harper is 91 and still hitting the gym three times a week. That tells you something about his approach to life.

Growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, he made a decision at 18 that would shape everything: he joined the U.S. Air Force. What followed was three decades in uniform, with deployments that took him across the globe - including service during the Vietnam War. After military retirement, his service continued: first as a procurement specialist, and then in security at the Sacramento International Airport.

He earned a degree in Education from Southern Illinois University, but his real classroom has always been his life experiences and the people he's met along the way. Ask him about his guiding principles and he'll tell you: truth, friendship, spirituality, and treating others the way you want to be treated. Simple ideas that aren't always simple to live by.

His personal motto is "Keep on keeping on"—words that seem to capture his persistence, his positive mindset, and his pragmatism. Looking back, he says joining the military was the best decision he ever made.

But these days, Archie is thinking bigger. His hope is that humanity can figure out how to sit down and talk instead of fight. "We could accomplish so much more," he said, "if we just stopped and listened to each other."

Archie and his wife of 50 years reside in Sacramento, CA.