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Lee, Wendell Ray ("TV Lee"), CMSgt.
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Contact Info
Home Town Paul's Valley, OK
Last Address Novato, CA
Date of Passing Jan 10, 2010
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Age 84, passed away in his sleep, Sunday January 10, 2010. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Anita Lee, his two sons Tommy Ryan Lee and Terry Donald Lee, his grandchildren Ryan, Joseph, Amanda, David, and Jackie and by his great-granddaughter, Kaitlyn Jeanne Ross.
Wendell was born Aug. 19, 1925 in Pauls Valley, Okla., to Genevieve and Lawrence Lee. He graduated from Pauls Valley High School in 1942 and attended Oklahoma State University before joining the Army in 1943. He served 20 years on active duty in the United States Air Force. Lee flew 23 missions with the 8th Air Force over Europe and returned home to marry Anita Calkins, the love of his life. He went on to serve in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, retiring at the rank of Chief Master Sergeant (E-9). His service decorations include the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Presidential Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal with two bronze service stars, European/African/Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and the WWII Victory Medal.
After his retirement from Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato, Calif., he worked as the general manager of a local cable television company for 15 years, earning the nickname ''TV Lee''. He was a member of the Hamilton-Petaluma Masonic Lodge 180, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Disabled Veterans, and the 490th Bomb Group Association, the Novato Rotary Club and the Sacramento Woodworkers Association.
A viewing will be held at Keaton's Redwood Chapel, 1801 Novato Blvd., Novato, on January 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the Hamilton Center Unity Chapel on January 31 at 3 p.m., with a reception to follow. Burial will take place at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
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2003 Interview w/ CMSgt Lee:
Description The military stalemate continued throughout the winter of 1952-1953. Allied Sabrejet pilots, meantime, persisted in destroying MiGs at a decidedly favorable ratio. In December the Communists developed an ambush tactic against F-86 pilots patroling along the Yalu River: MiG pilots would catch the UN aircraft as they ran short of fuel and headed south to return to base. During these engagements, some of the F-84 pilots exhausted their fuel and had IO bail out over Cho-do Island, 60 miles southwest of Pyongyang.
United Nations forces held the island and maintained an air rescue detachment there for such emergencies. To avoid combat while low on fuel, Sabre pilots began to fly home over the Yellow Sea. MiG pilots at this time generally sought the advantages of altitude, speed, position, and numbers before engaging in aerial combat. The UN pilots, on the other hand, relied on their skills to achieve aerial victories, even though they were outnumbered and flying aircraft that did not quite match the flight capabilities of the MiG-15s.
One memorable battle occurred on February l8, 1953, near the Sui-ho Reservoir on the Yalu River, 110 miles north of Pyongyang; 4 F-86Fs attacked 48 MiGs, shot down 2, and caused 2 others to crash while taking evasive action. All 4 U.S. aircraft returned safely to their base. While the Fifth Air Force maintained air superiority over North Korea during daylight hours, the Far East Air Forces Bomber Command on nighttime missions ran afoul of increasingly effective Communist interceptors. The aging B- 29s relied on darkness and electronic jamming for protection from both interceptors and antiaircraft gunfire, but the Communists used spotter aircraft and searchlights to reveal bombers to enemy gun crews and fighter-interceptor pilots.
As B-29 losses mounted in late 1952, the Bomber Command compressed bomber formations to shorten the time over targets and increase the effectiveness of electronic countermeasures. The Fifth Air Force joined the Navy and Marines to provide fighter escorts to intercept enemy aircraft before they could attack the B-29s. Bomber Command also restricted.missions along the Yalu to cloudy, dark nights because on clear nights contrails gave away the bombers' positions. FEAF lost no more B-29s after January 1953, although it continued its missions against industrial targets. On March 5 the B-29s penetrated deep into enemy territory to bomb a target at Chongjin in northeastern Korea, only 63 miles from the Soviet border. While Bomber Command struck industrial targets throughout North Korea during the winter of 1952-1953, the Fifth Air Force cooperated with the U.S. Navy's airmen in attacks on supplies, equipment, and troops near the from fines.
In December 1952 the Eighth Army moved its bombline from 10,000 to 3,000 meters from the front lines, enabling Fifth Air Force and naval fighter-bombers to target areas closer to American positions. Beyond the front lines, the Fifth Air Force focused on destroying railroads and bridges, allowing B-26s to bomb stalled vehicles. In January 1953 the Fifth Air Force attempted to cut the 5 railroad bridges over the Chongchon Estoary near Sinanju, 40 miles north of Pyongyang. Expecting trains to back up in marshaling yards at Sinanju, Bomber Command sent B-29s at night to bomb them, but these operations hindered enemy transportation only briefly.
As the ground thawed in the spring, however, the Communist forces had greater difficulty moving supplies and reinforcements in the face of the Fifth Air Force's relentless attacks on transportation. At the end of March 1953, the Chinese Communist government indicated its willingness to exchange injured and ill prisoners of war and discuss terms for a cease-fire in Korea. On April 20 Communist and United Nations officials began an exchange of POWs, and 6 days later, resumed the sessions at Panmunjom.
