Remembering The First Chinese-American Woman To Fly For The U.S. Military

Photo: Hazel Ying Lee reviews her performance after a session in a Link trainer. (U.S. Air Force photo)

First Chinese-American Woman To Fly For Military Died In Fiery Crash -- CBS

Hazel Ying Lee received her pilot's license the very year she took her first flight. She was that passionate about flying.

A little more than a decade later, she died doing what she loved. The first Chinese-American woman to fly for the military, she was killed as she ferried a fighter plane from New York to Montana during World War II.

Lee was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1912, at a time of few opportunities for Chinese-American women. After she graduated from high school she became an elevator operator at a downtown department store, one of the only jobs available to her, according to her family. But she also joined the Chinese Flying Club of Portland and at a time when less than one percent of pilots in the United States were women, she began lessons.

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My Comment: A true American hero. Her Wikipedia entry is impressive.