b. 02/02/1915 Arburg, Missouri. d. 05/11/1982 Jackson, Mississippi.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 01/02/1951 near Ip-O-Ri, Korea.
Hubert L Lee MOH
Hubert L. Lee was born in Arburg, Missouri, on February 2, 1915, the son of railroad fireman Charles Lee and Beulah Lee. Five years later, they were living in North Little Rock’s Ward 4.
The family later moved to Leland, Mississippi, and it was there that Lee was inducted into the U.S. Army during World War II. He served with distinction, winning a Bronze Star and Silver Star for heroism in fighting in North Africa and Italy. Lee remained in the army and had risen to the rank of master sergeant when the United States became involved in the Korean War. He served in Company I, Twenty-Third Infantry Regiment, Second Infantry Division.
On February 1, 1951, Company I was holding a position near Ip’o-ri, Korea, part of a United Nations force including elements of the U.S. Twenty-Third Regiment and Thirty-Seventh Field Artillery Battalion along with a contingent of French soldiers, when they were attacked by a large force of Chinese Communist soldiers. Company I was driven from its position, and Lee’s platoon leader was wounded.
Lee took command of the survivors of his platoon and commenced an assault on their original position, now in possession of the Chinese troops. Advancing to within twenty-five yards of their goal, Lee was wounded in the leg by grenade fragments but refused aid and continued the attack. The small group of U.S. troops was forced to retreat five times, but each time Lee would rally the remaining soldiers to move forward once more.
During the final attack, an exploding grenade knocked Lee over, causing serious wounds in both legs, but the master sergeant began crawling forward, calling his men to join him as he rose to his knees to fire on the enemy. Wounded a third time by small-arms fire, Lee continued crawling forward and leading his troops in successfully taking their objective. All but ten of Lee’s men were either killed or incapacitated by wounds. The Americans lost twenty-two dead and fifty-five wounded while inflicting eighty-three dead and around 200 wounded on the Chinese troops. Lee’s “intrepid leadership and determination led to the destruction of 83 of the enemy and withdrawal of the remainder, and was a vital factor in stopping the enemy attack,” his Medal of Honor citation states.
Lee recovered from his wounds and returned to duty on May 26, 1951. He and another soldier each received a Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman in a White House ceremony on January 29, 1952.
After the Korean War, Lee remained in the army, eventually serving in Alaska where he married Dorothy B. Ream in Anchorage on April 19, 1956. He retired from the army in 1958 and worked civil service jobs in Alaska for ten years before returning to Leland. He died there of a heart attack on November 5, 1982, and is buried in Stoneville-Leland Cemetery in Mississippi.
MOH CITATION:
M/Sgt. Lee, a member of Company I, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. When his platoon was forced from its position by a numerically superior enemy force, and his platoon leader wounded, M/Sgt. Lee assumed command, regrouped the remnants of his unit, and led them in repeated assaults to regain the position. Within 25 yards of his objective he received a leg wound from grenade fragments, but refused assistance and continued the attack. Although forced to withdraw five times, each time he regrouped his remaining men and renewed the assault. Moving forward at the head of his small group in the fifth attempt, he was struck by an exploding grenade, knocked to the ground, and seriously wounded in both legs. Still refusing assistance, he advanced by crawling, rising to his knees to fire, and urging his men to follow. While thus directing the final assault, he was wounded a third time, by small-arms fire. Persistently continuing to crawl forward, he directed his men in a final and successful attack which regained the vital objective. His intrepid leadership and determination led to the destruction of 83 of the enemy and withdrawal of the remainder, and was a vital factor in stopping the enemy attack. M/Sgt. Lee’s indomitable courage, consummate valor, and outstanding leadership reflect the highest credit upon himself and are in keeping with the finest traditions of the infantry and the U.S. Army.
BURIAL LOCATION: LELAND/STONEVILLE CEMETERY, STONEVILLE, MISSISSIPPI.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: FAMILY.
