Source-NextShark-
Lee, a Chinese-American Marine, is remembered by many for single-handedly driving Chinese attackers away during the Battle of Inchon in 1950. Born on Jan. 21, 1926, in San Francisco, Lee was the son of a Guangzhou-born man who moved to Hawaii in the 1920s, and later, California.
Lee attended high school with the nickname “Kurt” — which he adopted legally later — and joined the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) at the age of 18. He was assigned to learn Japanese, and upon graduation, was retained to teach the language. This disappointed him as he wanted to fight in World War II.
But in 1950, Lee became the first lieutenant of a machine-gun platoon that shipped out to Inchon on Sept. 21 to attack North Koreans and drive them northwards. The People’s Republic of China supported North Korea by sending troops, marking the beginning of a perilous but legendary battle.
Then came the night of Nov. 2, when Chinese forces advanced to attack his unit.
“All hell broke loose,” Lee told the Smithsonian Channel before his death in 2014.
“The whole place erupted with gunfire, explosions. The cacophony was tremendous, it was like we’re in the middle of a trembling bowl of jelly.” Read more
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