Arthur Lee was born in June 1921 in Abbeville, Louisiana, the second of five children. When he was two years old, the family moved to Nederland, Texas where his father drove a bread truck. He grew up during the Great Depression, and like most other families, the Lees didn't have much. He worked in a garden and sold the produce, and mowed grass for extra money. While in high school, he worked in a barbershop and a drug store, and graduated at the age of 15. After working a year, he moved to Lafayette, Louisiana, where he worked for room and board while attending Southwestern Louisiana Institute [Annotator's Note: now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or ULL, in Lafayette, Louisiana]. He joined the Enlisted Reserve Corps so he could finish earning his degree in economics and business, which he finished in January 1943. He was called up for service in February 1944, inducted at Camp Beauregard in Louisiana, and sent to Camp Francis E. Warren in Cheyenne, Wyoming for basic training. He entered the Army Specialized Training Program at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, and was sent to colleges in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Tired of waiting for assignment, and disinterested in becoming an officer, Lee volunteered for overseas duty.

After processing in California, Arthur Lee was sent to Maui, Hawaii, where he was running a warehouse and cold storage plant for Marines training for the Pacific. He was conscripted by a colonel to serve as chief clerk at the XXIV Corps headquarters at Schofield Barracks on Oahu, Hawaii. He credits his college degree with keeping him out of the infantry, and thereby saving his life. He spent several months at Schofield Barracks, then shipped out to the Philippines, remaining on the vessel for 40 days while it picked up several divisions. Lee was seasick, and spent most of the journey in sickbay. He served on Leyte, Philippines, as liaison for the XXIV Corp with the 32nd Infantry of the 7th Division [Annotator's Note: 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division], then moved on to Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] on Easter Sunday of 1945 [Annotator's Note: 1 April 1945]. He was there when the atomic bombs were dropped, and Lee said they "celebrated." He was reassigned to headquarters in Seoul, Korea, where he lived in one hotel, and worked in another until he had enough points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] to go home. He returned to the United States in December 1945.

On Leyte in the Philippines, Arthur Lee, along with a major, served as liaison for the XXIV Corp with the 32nd Infantry of the 7th Division [Annotator's Note: 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division]. They arrived to find "a lot of bombing going on," and trench fighting against the Japanese forces. Soon after he got there, Lee remembers the Americans delivered of a shipload of ammunition near the area where he was bivouacked [Annotator's Note: a temporary camp]. A Japanese Zero [Annotator's Note: Japanese Mitsubishi A6M fighter aircraft, referred to as the Zeke or Zero] dropped a 500 pound bomb on the ordnance store, and the explosions went on for two or three days. Lee remained under cover in a ditch, "and prayed." One of his buddies was hit by an artillery shell and died. Once things got settled, two or three Marine divisions went north, but found little resistance, and returned south where the battles raged. Lee said it "took a while" to secure the island because the Japs [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese] would not give up; they had to be killed. He remembers they captured one Japanese officer who had his own female nurse. One night, everyone dove into foxholes when the artillery fire started. Lighted by the shell bursts, and with ack-ack [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire] flying everywhere, Lee could see something moving toward the tents, and shortly afterward, the dark figure returned to a foxhole. The Japanese officer had sent his nurse through the chaos to get toilet paper. Later, when Lee arrived at Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan], the sky was full of planes, and the sea was full of ships pumping fire, and he said he felt reassured. His quarters were situated between the two main airports, and he experienced artillery fire overhead every night. It took a while to discover and destroy the source: a Japanese artillery piece on a track that retreated into the hillside between firings. Lee recalled an occasion when a Japanese soldier, his body strapped with grenades, ran through their camp throwing grenades into the officers' tents. He kept running until an officer shot at him, and his remaining ammunition went off, leaving little identifiable. Lee said there was always something going on, and he never did feel at ease. Lee's rank was Tech Sergeant [Annotator's Note: Technical Sergeant or E-7], and he noted that his group would have been among the first to go if the atomic bombs had not precluded the invasion of mainland Japan.

After Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan], Arthur Lee was sent to Seoul, Korea, where the American mission was to "disarmed the Japs and sent them back to Japan." The weapon he was issued was a carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine], but he never had to use it. There was not much resistance from the enemy, because of the heavy presence of the Allies, and because many of them [Annotator's Note: the Japanese soldiers] killed themselves. Lee remembered "very well" that at the end of the conflict on Okinawa, the Japanese soldiers jumped off a cliff instead of surrendering, and could be seen roiling around in the water below, drowning. Lee said he couldn't imagine human beings doing something like that, but they did it "for the emperor." Still, he doesn't think he will ever get over Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]; a lot of good men were killed because of that attack. On a daily basis, Lee did "everything that came through the office," including the issuance of clothing and equipment. Over the two years he served, he never got a furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. The only vestige of home he had was the unlikely visits from his younger brother in each of the places he was stationed. While he was away, he got a letter from his longtime girlfriend stating that she had married someone else. When he returned to the United States, Lee met the girl he married, and "things worked out great."

Returning to his service on Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan], Arthur Lee said he went ashore on Higgins boats [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP] with thousands of troops, and the hardest thing he ever did was to climb down the ropes, with everything he had to carry, to get from the ship to the transport boat. When he arrived at headquarters, everything was "pretty well intact." He was on Okinawa during the period of the Kamikaze attacks. Lee said he saw many of them dive into the ships, as well as many that were destroyed before they caused serious damage. Lee mentioned that the Americans did a lot to rebuild the island of Okinawa after the war. Thinking back about his opportunities for leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time], Lee recalled that on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii there were two hotels where the trainees went for R&R [Annotator’s Note: Rest and Recuperation]. But, he said, there was too much going on, "planning and un-planning," to have very many opportunities to get out. At the end of his service, he was stationed in Seoul, Korea for two or three months, during which time he toured some parts of Korea with his visiting younger brother. He knows he was one of the "lucky ones" that came home from the war whole, but didn't want to reenlist.

Arthur Lee returned to the United States in December 1945 by way of the Aleutians, landing at Seattle, Washington. From Seattle he rode a troop train to San Antonio, Texas, was processed, and discharged. His older brother drove him back to Texas. After his tour of duty, he adjusted "well" to civilian life. In retrospect, Lee said he is glad he participated in the war effort, and is proud of his military service. Lee donated some items to The National World War II Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana], currency and a flag, that he confiscated from Japanese prisoners when he was in Seoul, Korea. After his discharge, he went into banking in Nederland, Texas, and used the G.I. Bill to buy a furnished home there. One of the bank's customers became Lee's wife. After some time, he changed career path, and worked for an oilfield refinery, then ended up with National Manufacturing stores, living in Houma, Louisiana with his wife and five children.

Asked if he had plans or goals for his postwar life, Arthur Lee said he had no idea what he would do when he returned to civilian life. Things unfolded for him and his education was a great asset. He discusses the courses he took after joining the Army, and acknowledges that his military experiences helped in his postwar jobs in the oil field, the furniture business, and trucking. He rarely had opportunity to talk of his military career. Lee retired as general manager of Patterson Truck Lines and Patterson Mud & Chemical in 1986 after 35 years in the industry.