The Los Angeles Times ran a Memorial Day story the other day on Maj. Kurt Chew-Een Lee, a Chinese American infantry platoon leader who fought with the U.S. Marines in the Korean War: A tale of Korean War heroism.
His bravery at the battle of the Chosin Reservoir -- a Chinese American offider battling Chinese army troops who had surround the American forces -- is part of Marine Corps lore:
"His fighting style was ferocious and his leadership was inspirational," Joe Owen, who fought beside Lee and is now 85 and retired in upstate New York, said in a telephone interview. He said Lee "was always up with the assault squad."Even at 84-years-old, he sounds like a guy you wouldn't want to mess with. His war heroics are the subject of a documentary, Uncommon Courage: Breakout at Chosin, which premiered yesterday on the Smithsonian Channel. More here: Korean War documentary, 'Uncommon Courage: Breakout at Chosin,' debuts. And learn more about the program (including future airings) here.
The weather was frigid; the mountainous terrain was rugged; weaponry was often unreliable at subzero temperatures. The Marines were mostly untested in battle, but Lee had driven them hard during training to make them sharp.
The Chinese regulars, disciplined and numerous, assaulted in waves. Fighting was close in and fierce, including with bayonets. Lee, a lieutenant, was assigned to lead several hundred troops to reinforce a Marine company holding a position that was key to allowing thousands of Marines to move southward and escape the Chinese encirclement.
"I would have kicked ass and done whatever was necessary," said Lee, 84, retired and living in Washington, D.C. "To me, it didn't matter whether those were Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, whatever — they were the enemy."