Norman Lee
Bio
Norman Lee was born on November 17, 1929 in Perth, Western Australia. Due to hard times brought on by the Great Depression, his father joined the Royal Air Force which moved the family to Victoria. He attended Footscray Technical College and began working on his diploma for mechanical engineering when he saw an advertisement to join the Navy and learn to fly, two things he had always wanted to do. He left school and enlisted, becoming a pilot, eventually serving as Commodore. When cruising around Australia en route to New Zealand, he recalled hearing the buzz going around the ship that they would be heading to Korea for the war had broken out. Once there, he flew many successful bombing missions across North Korea and mastered the deck landing which he considered to be the most difficult part. He once questioned why he was so far from home fighting a war in an unknown country, but he soon realized it was to stop communist aggression. Having revisited Korea, he has seen the remarkable transformation firsthand and understands that he helped give South Korea an opportunity to survive and thrive.
Video Clips
Deck Landings
Norman Lee recalls a humorous conversation with the Duke of York regarding deck landings. He then describes the differences between making a deck landing on a straight deck verses an angled deck. He remembers making 333 deck landings over the span of his career and never bending a plane.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6G8mrBQ650&start=440&end=592
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/norman-lee#clip-1
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Prior Knowledge of Korea
Norman Lee recalls having no prior knowledge of Korea, nor much of Asia in general before the war. He remembers getting a thorough education about the kings and queens of England and how many referred to the United Kingdom as home. He describes the shock of seeing how Korea transformed itself after the war upon revisiting the country years later.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6G8mrBQ650&start=937&end=1137
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/norman-lee#clip-2
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Typhoon Ruth
Normal Lee remembers having to ride out Typhoon Ruth. He describes following protocol and sailing out of the harbor, noting that the Americans would ride it out in the harbor. He describes the high seas and the many fires within the ship as a result of water coming on board.
Share YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6G8mrBQ650&start=2707&end=2796
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/norman-lee#clip-3
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