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 More than 200 members of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, were surrounded by Chinese forces defending the Toktong Pass during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
With his arm in a sling and using only a compass, 1st Lt. Kurt Chew-een Lee guided his crew of Marines in the dark, over North Korea’s icy and rocky terrain, to reach and relieve Fox Company.
As a member of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, Lee led rescue efforts, and these efforts should merit the Medal of Honor, according to veterans from his native San Francisco who are fighting for his recognition.
American Legion Post 384, comprised of Chinese-American veterans, invited Lee out to San Francisco for one week earlier this year to laud his valor and get his name out for Medal of Honor consideration. Lee has already received a Navy Cross and Silver Star for other actions during the Korean War. They’re early in the lobbying process, and are a little unsure where to begin, said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Roger Dong, chairman of the post’s War Memorial Commission.
“The man’s 85 years old,” Dong said. “We don’t want to wait 20 more years to get it done.”
It was Dec. 1, 1950. Surrounded at the border by tens of thousands of Chinese forces, Fox Company was defending the mountain pass along the 1st Marine Division’s main supply line. They were running out of ammo, and the sub-zero temperatures were just as deadly as the enemy fire.
If Fox Company failed, the Chinese could break through the pass and cut off United Nations forces positioned near the man-made Chosin Reservoir.
To lead a rescue mission, battalion commander Lt. Col. Ray Davis assigned Lee, a platoon commander of 1/7’s Baker Company.
When Lee and fellow members of 1/7’s Baker Company finally made the rescue, “there wasn’t many left in Fox Company,” said retired Chief Warrant Officer 3 Wally Dugan, who served in the 7th Marines with Lee at Chosin.
Dugan also said Lee was a constantly moving presence on the line at Chosin. “He never stopped,” he said.
In an interview, Lee said he will cooperate with the vets pushing for his Medal of Honor upgrade.
He also said he was proud to be a “pioneer” as the Marine Corps’ first Chinese-American officer.
“I was not the poster boy type — ‘6-foot-2 with eyes of blue,’ ’’ he said with a laugh. “But it was a challenge and I enjoyed it. Very few people tried to knock that big chip off my shoulder.”
Lee’s exploits also are now the subject of a documentary by the Smithsonian Channel, a film called “Uncommon Courage: Breakout at Chosin.”
“We’ve all heard stories about brave young men who’ve jumped on grenades to save their comrades and have been awarded the Medal of Honor,” Dong said. “Just because Kurt Lee did not die does not mean he should not be recognized with the Medal of Honor. Who knows how many people are alive today because of him?”
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