Lewis M. Lee, Sr. was born in June 1919 in Weston, Texas. He was the fifth of five sons whose mother died in childbirth. He left home at a young age to be a hobo, but an older brother took him away to Kansas City, Missouri, cleaned him up and got him a factory job. A coworker persuaded him to join the Navy. It took several attempts before he was allowed to apply, and then, by luck and emergency measures to reach the minimum weight, Lee was accepted. He shipped out to Great Lakes, Illinois to begin a life he enjoyed very much. His company went to San Francisco, then to Pearl Harbor, where he became a member of the commandant's crew on the captain's gig [Annotator's Note: the captain's gig is a small boat used on naval vessels as the captain's taxi].

Lewis M. Lee, Sr. was stationed at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and vividly remembers the attack. He was slated to rig sailboats for the captain's guests to sail, so he went ashore around five in the morning, and was waiting in the boathouse when he was called to the picture window to witness the attack. Lee said that in boot camp the recruits had been told that the Navy's ships couldn't be sunk; but what he saw that morning was something he can't explain. Ships were turned upside down, and over to his right was a big ball of fire, the Arizona [Annotator's Note: USS Arizona (BB-39)] had exploded. Lee remembers that the night before, members of the crew of that ship had played cards with him in the very boat house where Lee was standing. He was ordered to the Number One dry-dock where a battleship and two destroyers were under repair. Outside of the dry-dock were the cruiser Helena [Annotator's Note: USS Helena (CL-50)] and the old ship Oglala [Annotator's Note: USS Oglala (CM-4)]. A Japanese torpedo went through the Oglala and hit the Helena. Lee was in a crew that began to pull the Helena and then the old ship over to the dock to keep it from blocking the channel. Then everyone was picking up bodies, and doing anything they could to help. The noise and the smoke and the smell were unbelievable. That night Lee was called to the armory and issued a gun. When he tried to fire the weapon, it wouldn't shoot, so he exchanged it. Lee never had to use it, and said the Lord was looking over them. They set up a receiving station, and sailors were showing up in nothing but their underclothes, some had blankets wrapped around them, some were bleeding, some crying. Two merchant ships were called over from Honolulu and conscripted by the Navy. Lee and his mates had to rig them up to go to sea.

Lewis M. Lee, Sr. was assigned to one of the requisitioned merchant ships, and was hauling troops to Midway and other Pacific Islands. On one occasion, he snuck off his ship and went to see the admiral on his barge. Lee asked to be transferred back into the service of the admiral; instead he got a lecture, and the admiral told him that if Lee was doing his job on another ship, no matter what that job was, then he was doing his part. Lee was impressed, and went dutifully back to work. After Lee retired, he mourned when he learned of the admiral's death. [Annotator's Note: Lee murmurs "Thank you," and appears to be crying.] Brought back to the memory of the Pearl Harbor attack, Lee observed that he wasn't scared, but awestruck by the sound and fire and smoke. Lee was surprised that a submarine base, directly across from Pearl Harbor, was left untouched during the raid. He remembered that one old ship, a four-stacker named Tracy [Annotator's Note: USS Tracy (DM-19)] that everyone called a tin can, was giving the greatest antiaircraft response of any ship in the harbor. Everything was so jammed up, and bullets were flying by and hitting metal with a distinctive sound; Lee finds it amazing he didn't get hit. The following day, everyone was on constant alert, expecting the Japanese to return but after they left that Sunday morning, they were never seen again. Lee had friends killed on the Arizona [Annotator's Note: USS Arizona (BB-39)] and in the Navy yard. He said there was a lot of confusion and no time for funeral services. He quoted President Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt]: "War is Hell." Lee and his companions were young, they were there for a purpose, they wanted to be there, and that made a difference. Ready to fight, ready to go. And they did their part.

After about three years at sea on different ships, Lewis M. Lee, Sr. went back to Pearl Harbor where he got orders back to the United States. In San Francisco, Lee was impressed by all the lights on the main street; and he was surprised, too, when his dark-tan skin caused him to be mistaken for a colored man and was refused service in bars. He was put on prisoner duty, but requested shore duty or work on the coast. Instead, Lee was classified as having battle fatigue and sent to the University of Chicago. He remembers being delighted to have a glass of milk. In time, the school was closed, and Lee went to Great Lakes for six months. Following that, he was assigned to a ship in the Vallejo, California dry-dock where Rosie the Riveter was working. When the ship was released, Lee headed for South Korea to bombard the beaches, but the armistice was signed the day before Lee's ship arrived and his ship turned around.

Although he didn't like it at first, in time Lewis M. Lee, Sr.'s diagnosis of battle fatigue didn't bother him, even though he knew it meant he was just a fraction above crazy. He had a difficult time adjusting to civilian life because he was an alcoholic. He admits he had nightmares, and finds it hard to explain, but knows they were not peaceful or comfortable. Lee said the difficult times he lived through did something to him, and they're still doing something to him. He met another veteran of Pearl Harbor, someone he could talk with about the ordeal, and learned that on the occasion of the attack, the two were about 40 feet from one another. Having dialogue with another veteran was therapeutic. Lee notes that having been through war makes one a different person altogether. He would not talk about his difficulties with anyone right after the war, but tried to cope with his feelings and his loneliness the best way he could. Once he opened up about it, he was invited to speak to an ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps] group, and he was glad to tell them what went on.

Lewis M. Lee, Sr. said the Americans were bitter about the Japanese attack, and when they were hunting for them around the Navy yard afterward, they were determined to bring them in, dead or alive. The war had started, and Lee recalled the story of a Japanese dump truck driver who showed up at the gate of the Navy yard, remarking to the guards, "I guess we're showing y'all now." Lee said that was the end of him; the Marines killed him on the spot. The Japanese milkman who delivered to the boat house disappeared. Lee said he was most worried about a beautiful ring he had pawned; he was afraid he would lose his ring in the madness that followed the attack. [Annotator's Note: Lee laughs about the strangeness of that memory.] Taking over the merchant ships was problematic, because there was nowhere to prepare food for a large crew, and the holding tanks had to be cleared of fish oil to make way for fresh water. When it was hot, their coffee had a taint of fish oil. Lee said he didn't want to have anything to do with the Japanese during or after the war, even though he has traveled to Japan and China since the war, without incident.

Lewis M. Lee, Sr. said his ship was anchored off Enewetak Atoll when the atomic bomb was being tested. Their ship was housing scientists and unusual cargo, including thousands of car tires, and lots of foul weather jackets, and beer that was undrinkable because it contained preservatives. He fully supported dropping the atomic bombs on Japan and called it God's work. [Annotator's Note: Interviewer leaves for several seconds.] Left alone, Lee remembered another scenario when power was turned against him; he instigated a barroom brawl over a girl, and got beat so badly his chief had to identify him. He chuckled and said there were some good times and some bad times.

Lewis M. Lee, Sr.'s most memorable experience of the war was Pearl Harbor, and he remarks that we didn't have a fighting chance. But, he said, in the end we did good. His life was changed from darkness to light by the war, and Lee is sure God was and is still looking over him. He is in a facility, away from his home and wife in Charleston, with no expectation of getting out. So he has made up his mind to ride it out until the day has come. He has two sons, both college graduates. He thinks it is good to teach our young what war is like, although any war engaged in today would be different, all atomic. He is sure that were it not for the atomic bomb, we would still be fighting.