Hazel Ying Lee
Encyclopedia
Hazel Ying Lee was a Chinese American
pilot who flew for the U.S. Army Air Forces
during World War II
.
. Her father was a merchant. Her mother devoted her energy to raising 8 children and helping with the family business. Despite the widespread Anti-Chinese bias of her time, Lee led a full and active life. Lee swam, played handball
, loved to play cards and in her teenage years, learned how to drive.
Following graduation from high school
in 1929, Lee found a job as an elevator
operator at Liebes Department Store in downtown Portland. This was one of the few jobs that a Chinese American woman could hold during this time period.
In 1932, Lee took her first airplane ride. At a time when less than 1% of pilots in the US were women, Lee joined the Chinese Flying Club of Portland and took flying lessons with famed aviator Al Greenwood. Despite opposition from her mother, Lee “had to fly.” In discussing Lee’s love of flying, her sister Frances said, “It was the thought of doing something she loved. Lee enjoyed the danger and doing something that was new to Chinese girls.”
In October 1932, Lee became one of the first Chinese American women to earn a pilot’s license. In speaking of Lee and the handful of other Chinese American women pilots of that time, author Judy Yung
has written “Although few in number, these first Chinese American aviators, in their attempt to participate in a daring sport, broke the stereotype of the passive Chinese women and demonstrated the ability of Chinese American women to compete in a male dominated field.” While in Portland Lee met her future husband 'Clifford' Louie Yim-Qun
.
aggression against Western China in 1933, Lee journeyed to China with the goal of joining the Chinese Air Force. Despite the need for pilots, the Chinese Air Force would not accept a woman pilot. Frustrated, Lee instead settled in Canton
and spent the next few years flying for a private airline. She was one of a very small number of women pilots in China.
In 1937, Japan invaded China. Lee remained in China despite the war and was in Canton when hundreds of civilians were killed in Japanese air attacks. Friends speak of Lee's calm while bombs fell all around and remember Lee's effort to find shelter for friends, neighbors and family. Thanks to Lee, all survived the bombing attacks. Following another unsuccessful effort to join the Chinese Air Force, Lee escaped to Hong Kong
and returned to the USA
in 1938. In New York
, Lee worked for the Chinese government as a buyer of war materials for besieged China.
, America was drawn into World War II
. As the War claimed the time and lives of American pilots, it became clear that there were not enough male pilots to sustain the War effort at home. With the active support of Army Air Force Commander Henry “Hap” Arnold, the Women Airforce Service Pilots
or “WASP,” was created in 1943, under the command of famed aviator Jacqueline Cochran
.
Experienced women pilots, like Lee, were eager to join the WASP, and responded to interview requests by Cochran. Members of the WASP reported to Avenger Field, in wind swept Sweetwater, Texas
for an arduous 6-month training program. Lee was accepted into the 4th class, 43 W 4. Hazel Ying Lee was the first Chinese American woman to fly for the United States military.
Although flying under military command, the women pilots of the WASP were classified as civilians. They were paid through the civil service. No military benefits were offered. Even if killed in the line of duty, no military funerals were allowed. The WASPs were often assigned the least desirable missions, such as winter trips in open cockpit airplanes. Commanding officers were reluctant to give women any flying deliveries. It took an order from the head of the Air Transport Command
to improve the situation.
Upon graduation, Lee was assigned to the third Ferrying Group at Romulus, Michigan. Their assignment was critical to the war effort; Deliver aircraft, pouring out of converted automobile factories, to points of embarkation, where they would then be shipped to the European and Pacific War fronts. In a letter to her sister, Lee described Romulus as “a 7-day workweek, with little time off.” When asked to describe Lee's attitude, a fellow member of the WASP summed it up in Lee's own words, “I’ll take and deliver anything.”
Described by her fellow pilots as “calm and fearless,” Lee had two forced landings. One landing took place in a Kansas
wheat field. A farmer, pitchfork in hand, chased her around the plane while shouting to his neighbors that the Japanese had invaded Kansas. Alternately running and ducking under her wing, Lee finally stood her ground. She told the farmer who she was and demanded that he put the pitchfork down. He complied.
Lee was a favorite with just about all of her fellow pilots. She had a great sense of humor and a marvelous sense of mischief. Lee used her lipstick to inscribe Chinese characters on the tail of her plane and the planes of her fellow pilots. One lucky fellow who happened to be a bit on the chubby side, had his plane dubbed (unknown to him) “Fat Ass.”
Lee was in demand when a mission was RON (Remaining Overnight) In a big city or in a small country town, she could always find a Chinese restaurant, supervise the menu, and often cook the food herself. She was a great cook. Fellow WASP pilot Sylvia Dahmes Clayton observed that “Hazel provided me with an opportunity to learn about a different culture at a time when I did not know anything else. She expanded my world and my outlook on life.”
In September 1944, Lee was sent to Pursuit School at Brownsville, Texas
for intensive training. She was part of Class 44-18 Flight B and went on to be among the 134 women pilots who flew “Pursuit,” that is faster, high powered fighters such as the P-63 Kingcobra
, P-51 Mustang
and P-39 Airacobra. Lee's favorite was the Mustang.
Lee and the others were the first women to pilot fighter aircraft for the United States military.
On November 10, 1944, Lee received orders to go to the Bell Aircraft
factory at Niagara Falls
and pick up a P-63 and deliver the plane to Great Falls, Montana
. (A side note: During the War, Lee and the other Pursuit Pilots delivered over 5,000 Fighters to Great Falls. Great Falls was the link in supplying our Russia allies with planes. From there, male pilots flew the fighters on to Alaska, where Russian pilots waited to fly the planes home.)
Bad weather delayed the mission at Fargo, North Dakota
. On Thanksgiving
morning, the weather cleared and Lee was able to leave Fargo. A little after 2 P.M., Lee was cleared to land in Great Falls. A large number of P-63’s approached the airport at the same time. There was confusion on the part of the control tower. Upon landing, Lee's plane and another P-63 collided, and were engulfed in flames. Lee was pulled from the burning wreckage of her airplane, her flight jacket still smoldering.
Two days later, on November 25, 1944, Lee died from the burns she received in the accident. Only 3 days after learning of Lee's death, the Lee family received another telegram. Lee's brother, Victor, serving with the US Tank Corps, had been killed in combat in France. As they prepared to bury Lee and Victor, the family picked out a burial site in a Portland, Oregon
cemetery.
The cemetery refused to allow the family to bury Lee and Victor in the chosen spot, citing cemetery policy that did not allow Asians to be buried “in the White section.” After a lengthy battle, the Lee family prevailed. Lee was laid to rest in a non-military funeral, and buried alongside her brother, on a sloping hill in River View Cemetery
, overlooking the Willamette River
.
For over three decades, members of the WASP and their supporters attempted to secure military status for the women pilots. In March 1979, following United States Congressional approval of Public Law 95-202, the efforts of the Women Airforce Service pilots were finally recognized and military status was finally granted.
38 pilots of the WASP died while in service to their country during the difficult years of World War II. Lee was the last to die.
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
pilot who flew for the U.S. Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Biography
Lee was born in Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. Her father was a merchant. Her mother devoted her energy to raising 8 children and helping with the family business. Despite the widespread Anti-Chinese bias of her time, Lee led a full and active life. Lee swam, played handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
, loved to play cards and in her teenage years, learned how to drive.
Following graduation from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in 1929, Lee found a job as an elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
operator at Liebes Department Store in downtown Portland. This was one of the few jobs that a Chinese American woman could hold during this time period.
In 1932, Lee took her first airplane ride. At a time when less than 1% of pilots in the US were women, Lee joined the Chinese Flying Club of Portland and took flying lessons with famed aviator Al Greenwood. Despite opposition from her mother, Lee “had to fly.” In discussing Lee’s love of flying, her sister Frances said, “It was the thought of doing something she loved. Lee enjoyed the danger and doing something that was new to Chinese girls.”
In October 1932, Lee became one of the first Chinese American women to earn a pilot’s license. In speaking of Lee and the handful of other Chinese American women pilots of that time, author Judy Yung
Judy Yung
Judy Yung is professor emerita in American Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in oral history, women's history, and Chinese American and Asian American history.-Life:...
has written “Although few in number, these first Chinese American aviators, in their attempt to participate in a daring sport, broke the stereotype of the passive Chinese women and demonstrated the ability of Chinese American women to compete in a male dominated field.” While in Portland Lee met her future husband 'Clifford' Louie Yim-Qun
Louie Yim-Qun
"Clifford" Louie Yim-qun , also known as Louie Yen-chung, was born in Seattle, Washington; his father was from Taishan county, Guangdong, China. He obtained a private pilot's license at the Portland Flying School, Oregon, and went to China in 1933. One of the other pilots in Portland was Hazel Ying...
.
Time in China
In response to JapaneseEmpire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
aggression against Western China in 1933, Lee journeyed to China with the goal of joining the Chinese Air Force. Despite the need for pilots, the Chinese Air Force would not accept a woman pilot. Frustrated, Lee instead settled in Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
and spent the next few years flying for a private airline. She was one of a very small number of women pilots in China.
In 1937, Japan invaded China. Lee remained in China despite the war and was in Canton when hundreds of civilians were killed in Japanese air attacks. Friends speak of Lee's calm while bombs fell all around and remember Lee's effort to find shelter for friends, neighbors and family. Thanks to Lee, all survived the bombing attacks. Following another unsuccessful effort to join the Chinese Air Force, Lee escaped to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and returned to the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1938. In New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Lee worked for the Chinese government as a buyer of war materials for besieged China.
Military career
After the Japanese attack on Pearl HarborPearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, America was drawn into World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. As the War claimed the time and lives of American pilots, it became clear that there were not enough male pilots to sustain the War effort at home. With the active support of Army Air Force Commander Henry “Hap” Arnold, the Women Airforce Service Pilots
Women Airforce Service Pilots
The Women Airforce Service Pilots and its predecessor groups the Women's Flying Training Detachment and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron were pioneering organizations of civilian female pilots employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces...
or “WASP,” was created in 1943, under the command of famed aviator Jacqueline Cochran
Jacqueline Cochran
Jacqueline Cochran was a pioneer American aviator, considered to be one of the most gifted racing pilots of her generation...
.
Experienced women pilots, like Lee, were eager to join the WASP, and responded to interview requests by Cochran. Members of the WASP reported to Avenger Field, in wind swept Sweetwater, Texas
Sweetwater, Texas
Sweetwater is the county seat of Nolan County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,415 at the 2000 census.-History:Sweetwater received a U.S. post office in 1879. The Texas and Pacific Railway started service in 1881, with the first train arriving on March 12 of that year, beginning...
for an arduous 6-month training program. Lee was accepted into the 4th class, 43 W 4. Hazel Ying Lee was the first Chinese American woman to fly for the United States military.
Although flying under military command, the women pilots of the WASP were classified as civilians. They were paid through the civil service. No military benefits were offered. Even if killed in the line of duty, no military funerals were allowed. The WASPs were often assigned the least desirable missions, such as winter trips in open cockpit airplanes. Commanding officers were reluctant to give women any flying deliveries. It took an order from the head of the Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
to improve the situation.
Upon graduation, Lee was assigned to the third Ferrying Group at Romulus, Michigan. Their assignment was critical to the war effort; Deliver aircraft, pouring out of converted automobile factories, to points of embarkation, where they would then be shipped to the European and Pacific War fronts. In a letter to her sister, Lee described Romulus as “a 7-day workweek, with little time off.” When asked to describe Lee's attitude, a fellow member of the WASP summed it up in Lee's own words, “I’ll take and deliver anything.”
Described by her fellow pilots as “calm and fearless,” Lee had two forced landings. One landing took place in a Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
wheat field. A farmer, pitchfork in hand, chased her around the plane while shouting to his neighbors that the Japanese had invaded Kansas. Alternately running and ducking under her wing, Lee finally stood her ground. She told the farmer who she was and demanded that he put the pitchfork down. He complied.
Lee was a favorite with just about all of her fellow pilots. She had a great sense of humor and a marvelous sense of mischief. Lee used her lipstick to inscribe Chinese characters on the tail of her plane and the planes of her fellow pilots. One lucky fellow who happened to be a bit on the chubby side, had his plane dubbed (unknown to him) “Fat Ass.”
Lee was in demand when a mission was RON (Remaining Overnight) In a big city or in a small country town, she could always find a Chinese restaurant, supervise the menu, and often cook the food herself. She was a great cook. Fellow WASP pilot Sylvia Dahmes Clayton observed that “Hazel provided me with an opportunity to learn about a different culture at a time when I did not know anything else. She expanded my world and my outlook on life.”
In September 1944, Lee was sent to Pursuit School at Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
for intensive training. She was part of Class 44-18 Flight B and went on to be among the 134 women pilots who flew “Pursuit,” that is faster, high powered fighters such as the P-63 Kingcobra
P-63 Kingcobra
The Bell P-63 Kingcobra was a United States fighter aircraft developed in World War II from the Bell P-39 Airacobra in an attempt to correct that aircraft's deficiencies...
, P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
and P-39 Airacobra. Lee's favorite was the Mustang.
Lee and the others were the first women to pilot fighter aircraft for the United States military.
On November 10, 1944, Lee received orders to go to the Bell Aircraft
Bell Aircraft
The Bell Aircraft Corporation was an aircraft manufacturer of the United States, a builder of several types of fighter aircraft for World War II but most famous for the Bell X-1, the first supersonic aircraft, and for the development and production of many important civilian and military helicopters...
factory at Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
and pick up a P-63 and deliver the plane to Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
. (A side note: During the War, Lee and the other Pursuit Pilots delivered over 5,000 Fighters to Great Falls. Great Falls was the link in supplying our Russia allies with planes. From there, male pilots flew the fighters on to Alaska, where Russian pilots waited to fly the planes home.)
Bad weather delayed the mission at Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
. On Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
morning, the weather cleared and Lee was able to leave Fargo. A little after 2 P.M., Lee was cleared to land in Great Falls. A large number of P-63’s approached the airport at the same time. There was confusion on the part of the control tower. Upon landing, Lee's plane and another P-63 collided, and were engulfed in flames. Lee was pulled from the burning wreckage of her airplane, her flight jacket still smoldering.
Two days later, on November 25, 1944, Lee died from the burns she received in the accident. Only 3 days after learning of Lee's death, the Lee family received another telegram. Lee's brother, Victor, serving with the US Tank Corps, had been killed in combat in France. As they prepared to bury Lee and Victor, the family picked out a burial site in a Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
cemetery.
The cemetery refused to allow the family to bury Lee and Victor in the chosen spot, citing cemetery policy that did not allow Asians to be buried “in the White section.” After a lengthy battle, the Lee family prevailed. Lee was laid to rest in a non-military funeral, and buried alongside her brother, on a sloping hill in River View Cemetery
River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon)
River View Cemetery in the southwest section of Portland, Oregon, United States, is a non-profit cemetery founded in 1882. It is the final resting place of many prominent and notable citizens of Oregon, including many governors and United States Senators...
, overlooking the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
.
For over three decades, members of the WASP and their supporters attempted to secure military status for the women pilots. In March 1979, following United States Congressional approval of Public Law 95-202, the efforts of the Women Airforce Service pilots were finally recognized and military status was finally granted.
38 pilots of the WASP died while in service to their country during the difficult years of World War II. Lee was the last to die.