Kenneth Horace Lee letters
Navy corpsman Kenneth H. Lee writes to his family during World War II, 1946 (MS 639 Box 2, Folder 11).
Collection area: Arizona and Southwest
Collection dates: 1944 to 1946
Letters written by Kenneth Lee, U. S. Navy recruit and hospital corpsman, from May 1944 to June 1946, to his parents and brother in Casa Grande, Arizona. He writes about daily life in the military, Naval terminology, movies watched, and meals as well as his training and work a a hospital corpsman. His daily life begins at training camp, then hospital corpsman training, then on board ship to Japan, then living and working on Japan after the surrender as the military is closing down operations over the following year. He describes planes to his brother. He tells of Paramount pictures filiming "Here come the Waves" on 5.31.44 and gives his opinion of Waves. At times he criticizes officers' privileges, both defends and criticizes African American sailors, and briefly gives his opinion on politics of the day. He describes living conditions on the island of Okinawa and the Navy's adjustments to the end of the war.
Some letters mentioning race relations within the group are dated 7.24.44, 8.7.44, 8.29.44, 6.2.45, 3.8.45, 4.26.45, 9.3.45, and 1.18.46. He experienced a typhoon near Okinawa, Japan on 10.13.45. Some mentions of politics are found on 9.10.44, 11.8.44, and December 1944.
U. S. Navy recruit and later hospital corpsman, Kenneth Lee joined the military in 1944 from Casa Grande, Arizona, at the age of 17. He was the son of Horace S. and Willie Copeland Lee and had one brother, Kermit Lee. His family owned a dairy farm in Casa Grande. He was stationed in San Diego from May 1944 to October 1944, then on the U. S. Naval hospital staff in Shoemaker and San Bruno, California until May 1945. He was at sea until about August when he was near the Ryukyus Islands. On August 10th, he learned Japan had surrendered. He was in Okinawa in September, 1945 and arrived back in San Franciso about June 6, 1946.
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