Marine Maj. Kurt Chew-Een Lee passes
AverageNCO, while trolling the obituaries like he does, ran across this one about Maj. Kurt Chew-Een Lee, the first Asian-American Marine officer who passed at the tender age of 88 in his Washington, DC home on Monday;
He received the Navy Cross, the Marines’ second-highest honor, for bravery during a fierce assault by Communist Chinese forces aiding the North Koreans on the night of Nov. 2-3, 1950.
To spur his men to fight, he took off in the darkness on a one-man raid and exposed himself to fire to pinpoint enemy positions for attack. Shouting in Mandarin to sow confusion, he hurled grenades and shot at Chinese troops, who fled. Wounded in the knee, he was shot the next day by a sniper and treated at an Army field hospital.
Unwilling to be sent to Japan for treatment, Maj. Lee took a Jeep without approval and drove with another wounded Marine to rejoin their platoon in Baker Company of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. He was assigned to help relieve a Marine division that was encircled by overwhelming enemy numbers while trying to defend their only escape road in the bloody Battle of Chosin Reservoir in December 1950.
You should read the whole story, and there’s more at Wiki. He went on to deploy to Vietnam, too.
Category: Real Soldiers
Smithsonian Channel made a TV documentary about his actions at the Chosin Reservoir. A true hero; RIP…
I saw that documentary not more than 2 weeks ago…A true hero is right.
RIP sir. Fair winds and following seas.
Rest in peace, my elder brother-in-arms. We should all strive to live up to your example.
FWIW: two of Maj. Lee’s brothers also served in Korea. His elder brother, 1LT Chew-Mon Lee, US Army, performed acts of heroism on 30 Nov 1950 for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. A second brother, 1LT Chew-Fan Lee, US Army, was a pacifist, but served nonetheless in the Medical Service Corps in Korea and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.
that is a family of studs; their Mom and Dad deserve a special place at the table for raising great sons.
Hardcore.
Rest in Peace, Sir.
Rest In Peace Sir. You served well. Now you can lay your burdens down.
Hand Salute!
Ready To!
Rest In Peace.
I thought this guy sounded familiar. I read the book Colder than Hell many years back by Joseph R. Owen. Owen was in a different platoon, but mentions Lee on a number of occasions as their platoons worked together. Awesome read.
There’s another book called “The Last Stand of Fox Company” about F Co, 7th Marines, that held Fox Hill in Toktong Pass. It describes how then-Captain Lee was tasked with breaking through Chinese lines to relieve Fox Company and reopen the line of retreat to Hagaru-Ri. Great book that covers a lot of heroes, including Major Lee.
He was a real badass, and an American hero.
Whitey,
That was a book I could not put down.
RIP Sir.