Hazel Ying Lee

Born in 1912, Hazel Ying Lee and her eight siblings were raised by their parents, in an apartment in the area of downtown Portland known as Chinatown.  Lee graduated from high school in 1930, but due to discrimination, could only find a job as an elevator operator.  After a friend gave her an airplane ride, Lee was hooked on flying.  Lee’s mother was reluctant to allow her daughter to fly, but finally gave in. Frances Tong, Lee’s sister, remembers their mother telling Lee, “You’re not afraid of the wind, you’re not afraid of the water.”  Lee joined the Portland Flying Club, and took flying lessons from Al Greenwood, who later became the state aeronautics inspector. After a year of training, Lee obtained her pilot’s license.

Lee traveled to China in 1932, intending to join the Chinese Air Force as a pilot, to defend China from the Japanese.  The Chinese Air Force did not allow women to join, but she was able to fly for a private commercial airline.  She contributed to the war effort by helping to open a school in Canton. 

In 1938, before the Japanese invaded China, Lee returned to the United States and worked in New York.  In 1942, the Women’s Flying Training Detachment (W.F.T.D.) was formed for the purpose of providing advanced training for women pilots.  Lee applied, and was accepted into the fourth class.  Both the W.F.T.D. and another organization, the Women’s Auxiliary Ferry Service (W.A.F.S.) flew planes from one location to another in the United States.  In 1943, the W.F.T.D. and the W.A.F.S. merged to become the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (W.A.S.P.). 

The W.A.S.P. training center was located in Sweetwater, Texas, where the temperatures often soared over 100 degrees in the summer. The training program was grueling.  In August 1943, Lee completed her training and was assigned to a squadron based in Michigan.  In addition to flying aircraft from the factory to where they were needed around the country, Lee’s duties included test flying airplanes that had mechanical difficulties and towing targets at which aerial gunnery students practiced firing. With the addition of an advanced training course, Lee qualified to fly all the Army’s single engine fighter aircraft.  She was then able to fly over 70 different kinds of planes.

On November 23, 1944, Lee’s airplane collided with another while landing in Montana.  Both planes were attempting to land from the same direction on the same runway at the same time, and when the control tower realized it, they radioed both pilots to pull up.  The other plane, above Lee’s, did not have a working radio and when Lee pulled up, her aircraft collided with the other one.  She died 2 days later from her injuries.  Lee was the last of 38 women W.A.S.P.s to die during her time of service.  Because the W.A.S.P.s were not members of the military service, but belonged to a civilian organization affiliated with the military service, family members were responsible for the costs of transporting the body and belongings home when a W.A.S.P. died in the line of duty.

Oregon Senator Gordon Smith paid tribute to Lee in Congress on April 12, 2003.  Smith said, “Ms. Lee made a selfless commitment to her country in a time of great peril, ultimately giving her life to her duty.  It is with humble respect and praise that I offer my recognition today to Hazel Ying Lee, in hopes she will always be remembered for her bravery.”