Willis A. Lee
Willis "Ching" Augustus Lee Junior (born May 11, 1888 in Natlee Owen County , Kentucky , † August 25, 1945 in Casco Bay off Portland , Maine ) was a Vice Admiral in the US Navy in the Pacific War . In the second naval battle of Guadalcanal , he led the US fleet to victory, for which he was awarded the Navy Cross . In a naval war dominated by aircraft carriers, Lee commanded numerous battleship and cruiser squadrons in important battles. As an avid sports shooter , he took part in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp and won five gold , one silver and one bronze medal.
Life
Early years and education
Willis Augustus Lee junior came on May 11, 1888 in the small town Natlee in Owen County , State of Kentucky , the youngest of three children (Curtis Lee (1883-1890), Roberta Lee (born March 18, 1886)) by Willis Augustus Lee Senior and Susan Arnold Lee to the world. His father, also known as "Pink Lee", was a lawyer and later a county judge, as well as the brother of Jefferson Davis Lee , the father of Isabel Lee Wilson . Willis Lee entered the United States Naval Academy in 1904 , where he first trained as a marksman. The talented young midshipman became a member of the academy's rifle team and was awarded the gold medal for handgun handling in his second year. In 1907, Lee and his team took part in the national shooting championships organized by the National Rifle Association at Camp Ferry , Ohio , where he won the individual competition. After four years at the Naval Academy, Lee had to start the two-year internship relevant to the completion of his training in June 1908. He served on the USS Idaho (BB-24) between October and May 1909 and on the protected cruiser USS New Orleans (CL-22), which was put back into service on November 15, 1909, from the following October to May 1910 meanwhile he trained in the academy's rifle team. On June 6, 1910, Lee received his officer license and was placed in service with the rank of Ensign in the US Navy.
During the First World War
His first on-board use after that was the gunboat USS Helena (PG-9) serving in the US Asia Squadron . a. patrolled the Yangtze River before returning to the United States in January 1913 to compete in the national shooting championships. From July to December of the following year, Lee served again on the battleship Idaho (BB-24) and was then transferred to the USS New Hampshire (BB-25). On this ship he participated on April 21, 1914 in the occupation of the Mexican port city of Veracruz , which was provoked by the so-called Tampico affair . Starting in December 1915, Lee was ordered to the Union Tool Company in Chicago , Illinois , where he was the controller of the armaments manufactured there. A few days after the end of the First World War on November 11, 1918, he was commanded on the destroyer USS O'Brien (DD-51), which was stationed in Queenstown, Ireland (now Cobh ). A few days before Christmas, Lee was transferred to the headquarters of the US Navy in Brest , on the French Atlantic coast. A short period of service this too, as he served on the USS Lea (DD-118) until June 1919 .
Interwar period and Summer Olympics
On his return to the United States, Lee again took part in the national shooting competitions with the US Navy team, followed by the post as first officer on the tender USS Bushnell (AS-2), the then flagship of the US submarine fleet in the Atlantic, between September 1919 and June 1920. Because of his excellent shooting skills, Lee was nominated for the US team for the upcoming VII Summer Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium . From the shooting competitions held between July 22 and August 3, 1920 , Lee emerged as a five-time Olympic champion and was also able to win a silver and a bronze medal. He won his seven Olympic medals exclusively in team competitions, u. a. with Commander Carl Osburn , also a naval officer.
Between September 1920 and June 1924 Lee commanded the destroyer USS Fairfax (DD-93) and later the USS William B. Preston (DD-344), which he led from Newport , Rhode Island , across the Suez Canal to the US Asia Fleet . He was then transferred to the New York Naval Shipyard and took part in the national shooting championships again in the following years. a. 1925 as captain of the naval team. In November 1926 he became first officer of the cargo ship USS Antares (AG-10). In October of the next year Lee was appointed commander of the Clemson-class destroyer USS Lardner (DD-286), whose command he held until June 1928. After a successful course at Naval War College in May 1929, he was weapons controller of the Long Island- based Naval Ordnance Plant . In the summer of 1930 he was again captain of the naval team during the shooting competitions in Wakefield , Massachusetts and Camp Perry, Ohio.
The first half of the 1930s spent Lee mainly on administrative posts in the US Department of the Navy , such as in the Department of Fleet Training and as head of each gunnery (1933-1935) and tactics department (1935-1936). The only exception was the period between May 1931 and June 1933, where he served as navigator and later as first officer on board the battleship USS Pennsylvania (BB-38). From October 1936 to July 1938, Lee served as the commandant of the light cruiser USS Concord (CL-10) before being appointed operations officer on the command staff of Rear Adm. Harold R. Stark , the commander of the 3rd Cruiser Squadron and also all cruisers in the US -Battle fleet. Stark's flagship was the Concord (CL-10) until December 1938 , before moving to the newer USS Honolulu (CL-48), with Lee appointed Chief of Staff. In June 1939 he moved back to the US Department of the Navy to first become deputy director and from next January director of the fleet training department.
Second World War
Guadalcanal
After the USA entered the Second World War on December 7, 1941, Lee was promoted to Rear Admiral and in February 1942 was entrusted with the post of Deputy Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the US Fleet, Ernest J. King . In August he was summoned to the Pacific theater of war and took command of Battleship Division 6, with the Washington (BB-56) as the flagship, and later of Battleship Squadron 2 in the Southwest Pacific. In the weeks that followed, Lee's naval formation took part in the Guadalcanal operations . After won with heavy losses victory in the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal , which was held on November 13, Admiral asked William Halsey , the Task Force 64 from the few available ships together to be prepared against other nocturnal Japanese attacks. Willis Lee was entrusted with the command of the TF 64, which consists of the battleships Washington , South Dakota (BB-57) and the destroyers Walke (DD-416), Preston (DD-377), Benham (DD-397) and Gwin (DD-433). On the night of November 14th to 15th, Lee came to the first test when a Japanese association under Admiral Kondo , consisting of a battleship, four cruisers and nine destroyers, approached Guadalcanal. The US Navy emerged victorious from this so-called second naval battle of Guadalcanal , despite the loss of three destroyers. Lee was u. a. awarded the Navy Cross for sinking the Japanese battleship Kirishima . After the Guadalcanal operations were over, RAdm commanded. Lee the TF 11, the light aircraft carriers Princeton (CVL-23) and Belleau Wood (CVL-24), the destroyers Spence (DD-512), Trathen (DD-530), Boyd (DD-544) and Bradford (DD- 545), as well as two transport ships. In the first week of September, the association provided air security during the occupation and construction of the airfield on Baker and Howland Islands .
Gilbert Islands to Mariana Islands
After conquering the Gilbert Islands in November 1943, Lee became the commander of TG 50.8, which was deployed on December 6th. The association consisted of the aircraft carriers Bunker Hill (CV-17) and Monterey (CVL-26), the battleships Washington , South Dakota , Indiana (BB-58), Alabama (BB-60), Massachusetts (BB-59) and North Carolina (BB-55) and seven destroyers together and attacked u. a. on December 8th to Nauru to distract from the impending landing on the Kwajalein Atoll . During this battle, which took place at the end of January 1944, Lee commanded Task Unit 58.1.3, which consisted of three battleships. During Operation Hailstone on February 17 and 18, 1944 , during which a massive air strike was carried out against the Japanese naval base on the Truk -Atoll, Lee commanded TG 50.9, consisting of the carrier Cowpens (CVL-25), the battleship Divisions 7 to 9 (six ships) and the cruisers Minneapolis (CA-36) and New Orleans (CA-32). The association took up position not far from the atoll and was given the task of finding ships fleeing Truk. The light cruiser Katori , the destroyer Maikaze and the cargo ship Akagi Maru were sunk about 75 km northwest of the atoll .
At the end of April, Lee, now promoted to Vice Admiral, commanded RAdm's artillery support group. Reeves TG 58.3. Lee reported to RAdm Glenn Davis Battleship Division 8 ( North Carolina , Indiana , Massachusetts ), RAdm EW Hansons BatDiv 9 ( South Dakota , Alabama ), and RAdm Jesse B. Oldendorf's Cruiser Division 4 ( Louisville (CA-28), Portland (CA-33 ) and Canberra (CA-70)). This gave on April 21, in the not far from Hollandia remote Tanahmerah Bay landing US troops fire support. On the way back to the naval base in Majuro Atoll, Lee's ships again bombed Truk and coastal fortifications on the Caroline island of Ponape on May 1st .
In early June, the invasion of the Mariana Islands , under the command of Admiral Raymond Spruance , began with the VAdm. Lee commanded the fast battleship group (TG 58.7). The BatDiv 6 ( USS Washington , USS North Carolina ) and RAdm were subordinate to him . OM Hustvedts BatDiv 7 ( USS Iowa (BB-61), USS New Jersey (BB-62)), RAdm. Glenn Davis BatDiv 8 ( USS Indiana ), Rad. Hansons BatDiv9 ( USS Alabama , USS South Dakota ), RAdm. Charles Turner Joys CruDiv6 ( USS Wichita (CA-45), USS San Francisco (CA-38), USS Minneapolis (CA-36), USS New Orleans (CA-32)) and 15 destroyers. From June 13, Lee's ships began firing at the islands of Tinian and Saipan , where US troops landed two days later, and provided direct fire support. In the battle in the Philippine Sea , which began a few days later , in which a Japanese fleet consisting of nine aircraft carriers faced the US armed forces under Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa , Lee's ships proved themselves in protecting their own aircraft carriers.
death
,_in_February_1945_(NH_49705).jpg)
The following months remained VAdm. Lee in the war zone and commanded the u. a. from the ships USS South Dakota (BB-57), USS Indiana (BB-58), USS Massachusetts (BB-59), USS New Jersey (BB-62), USS Missouri (BB-63), USS Wisconsin (BB- 64) and USS Indianapolis (CA-35) existing TG 59.7, which bombarded important port and fortifications of Okinawa on March 24, 1945 and thus prepared the landing of the Allies , which began a few days later .
Lee returned to the United States in May and was given command of Composite Task Force 69 on the US east coast. With the battleship USS Wyoming (BB-32) converted into an anti-aircraft training ship as its flagship, this unit had the task of developing effective methods against the devastating Japanese kamikaze attacks. In the tests carried out in Casco Bay on the coast of the state of Maine , the pure anti-aircraft armament of the Wyoming was used against tow targets, remote-controlled model airplanes and aircraft converted into drones. The fleet association was renamed Operational Development Force of the US Atlantic Fleet at the end of August and was replaced by RAdm. Robert Pearce Briscoe taken over.
VAdm. Lee suffered a heart attack on August 25, 1945 and died the same day. He was buried with military honors in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC ; he left behind his wife Mabelle Allen Lee (1894-1949). The two had been married since July 14, 1919 and remained childless.
Awards
Service awards
Some of the more well-known awards Lee received throughout his long career include Navy Cross, Navy Distinguished Service Medal with a Gold Star, and Legion of Merit . On January 26, 1952, the Mitscher-class destroyer USS Willis A. Lee (DL-4) was destroyed by VAdm. Lee's niece Fitzhugh christened Lee Palmer . The destroyer was in service with the US Navy from 1954 to 1969.
Olympic medals
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Web links
- Official Biography of the US Navy (English)
- history.navy.mil: Photos by Willis A. Lee (English)
- Biography of the National Cemetery Arlington (English)
- Biography (English)
- Willis A. Lee in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lee, Willis A. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lee, Willis Augustus (full name); Lee, Ching |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American Vice Admiral |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 11, 1888 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Natlee , Owen County , Kentucky , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 25, 1945 |
| Place of death | Casco Bay at Portland , Maine , United States |