Bing Tim Lee Asian-American Veteran

Bing Tim Lee was born May 24, 1925, in Hoisan, . He immigrated to the United States in 1940 with his uncle. His parents immigrated later. Bing live to the age of 94, and died April 28, 2020, just shy of his 95th birthday. Bing and his wife, Ida, were residents at the NJ Veterans Memorial Home when he passed away due to COVID-19. She is currently living at the same home. He is buried at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, New Jersey. His son, Terry Lee, lives at Four Seasons South Knolls.

Approximately two years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Bing joined the Navy on Sept. 10, 1943. He was 18 years old. After Navy Boot Camp in Sampson, NY, and training in Norfolk, VA, he was assigned to the USS Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587) as a Seaman 2nd Class (S2C) on June 9, 1944. The USS Nickel was a newly commissioned, Rudderow-class, destroyer escort and for the next few months was deployed to the Caribbean for a shakedown cruise and training. The Ship was named after Thomas Frederick Nickel, U.S. Marine Corps, who was mortally wounded and awarded the Silver Star. After shakedown/training, the destroyer escort made one round-trip voyage across the Atlantic escorting convoy UGS-50 to Bizerte, Tunisia before deploying to the Pacific. Bing Lee was one of a very few Navy personnel of Asian descent deployed to the Pacific. If captured by the Japanese, he would have been considered a spy and killed. Also, the Allied Forces might have mistaken him for Japanese, a difficult situation for Bing.

Navy Destroyer Escort USS Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587)

From Panama the destroyer escort had taken on 15 aerial torpedoes as deck cargo and headed for Manus islands in the South Pacific. She delivered her ordnance cargo at Seeadler Harbor on November 7, 1944. Three days later, the ship lay anchored slightly more than a mile from the ammunition ship Mowtt Hood (AE -l l) when the Hood exploded. The explosion was so great it caused a shock wave felt by the USS Nickel.

The USS Nickel traveled throughout the South Pacific from , , San Pedro Bay, and Leyte islands. In January 1945, the destroyer escort departed Aitape, New Guinea with Task Group (TG) 78.1, the San Fabian Attack Force, which was transporting the 43rd Infantry Division to make the initial assault against Island in the Philippines. The American ships entered Linagayen Gulf, Philippines on January 9, 1945, and the DE-587 protected the landings.

It was during this assault, we believe, Bing Tim Lee was wounded by a piece of shrapnel while manning the 40mm anti-aircraft gun. After a short period in sick bay, Bing returned to duty.

The gun crew was usually 7-9 sailors, including, a pointer, a trainer, a gun captain, and 4-6 loaders for this type of gun configuration (40mm twin mount).

Bing was also a trained marksman for small arms weapons. He was assigned as a sniper for sea-mines. Bing, along with another crew member who was a spotter, at the bow (front) of the ship, search for mines and exploded them with rifle fire. The ships logs show several mines destroyed by gun fire.

After leaving the Philippines, the USS Nickel was assigned to the anti-submarine and anti-aircraft screen. On January 10, 1945, while escorting the transport ship USS Du Page (APA-41), Japanese Suicide Bommer crashed into the USS Du Page and severely damaged her. The USS Nickel rescued five crewmen who had been blown overboard and gave them medical attention. The USS Thomas F. Nickel continued anti-submarine patrols between the islands of Biak and Owi, near . In early February 1945 she headed back to the Philippines with her escort group. On the evening of August 12, 1945, the USS Oak Hill reported a periscope on her port quarter, and eight minutes later a torpedo wake occurred 2,000 yards astern of her. The USS Thomas F. Nickel dropped several depth charges attacking the Japanese submarine. Later it was determined that the submarine that attacked USS Oak Hill was the Japanese submarine responsible for the sinking of the heavy cruiser Indianapolis (CA-35) days before.

During the USS Nickels deployment, Bing was promoted from Seaman 1st Class (S1C) to Gunners Mate 3rd Class (GM3) on 6/20/45. In the US Navy the enlisted ranks go from 3rd class (lowest) to 1st class (highest). In this case a GM3 is equivalent to a Petty Officer 3rd class.

The USS Nickel operated in the Philippines until November 1945 when she was ordered back to the United States, following the surrender of Japan. Thomas F. Nickel arrived at San Diego on December 18, 1945 and was decommissioned on May 31, 1946.

Bing received the American Theater Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Medal Star, the World War Victory Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon Star. He was honorably discharged for his service on May 6, 1946, with the rank of Gunners Mate 1strd Class (GM1).

Soon after his discharge, Bing married his life mate, Ida Wong Yee, on April 5, 1947. He was 22 and she 18. They had three sons, Terry, Jerry, and Tim.

Bing became a Naturalized US Citizen on February 2, 1962. His Naturalization Certificate indicates that he had a scar on his forehead. This was a result of his injury during the war.

Bing never finish high school, so his job opportunities were limited. He performed many jobs to support his growing family. For example, he was a chauffeur and a laundry truck driver. In addition, after earning a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), he became a transport/delivery trucker for the Eastern part of United States. For a short period of time, Bing worked as a bouncer using the Martial Arts training, he learned in China prior to his coming to America. He also had a gun carry permit which he needed for his job as a debt collector.

As with most immigrant family, Bing worked hard so his sons would grow up as Americans, but he never forgot his Asian heritage.

Written by Terry Lee and Vincent Scatuccio - 6/24/2021 References: Ancestry.com, Terry Lee, Uniform-reference.net, History.navy.mil, Navsource.org and Wikipedia.