William Andrew Lee

William Andrew "Ironman" Lee (November 12, 1900 – December 27, 1998) was a highly decorated officer in the United States Marine Corps with the rank of colonel. He was the recipient of three Navy Crosses, the United States military's second-highest decoration awarded for valor in combat.

William A. Lee was born in Ward Hill, Massachusetts, on November 12, 1900. Lee enlisted in the Marine Corps on May 22, 1918 and went to boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. Afterwards, he reported to machine gun school in Utica, New York, before shipping out to France in September 1918 during World War I. Lee rose to the rank of Corporal and returned to the United States in August 1919.

Lee reenlisted in the Marines in September 1921 and served with his brother, George Lee, aboard the USS Arkansas for five years. By April 1925, he was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant and became the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the fleet.

In early 1927, Lee was sent to Nicaragua where he assisted in training Nicaraguan National Guard soldiers and led them into combat against leftist rebels. In 1930, he led Guardia patrols into action against rebels on many occasions and was awarded his first two Navy Crosses during this time.

In September 1932, Lee and First Lieutenant Chesty Puller were leading a patrol of 40 Nicaraguans when they were ambushed by nearly 150 rebels. Lee was shot in the head and lost consciousness while Puller led the patrol in a counterattack against the rebels. After about 15 minutes, Lee regained consciousness and manned a Lewis Gun with destructive effect against the enemy. After defeating the enemy ambush, Lee and Puller withdrew their force back to their base over 100 miles away. Lee was awarded his third Navy Cross for his actions, Puller was awarded his second Navy Cross.

In January 1933, Lee returned to the United States and spent six months in a naval hospital in Washington, D.C. In June 1934 he was assigned to the 5th Marines in Quantico, Virginia, and was soon promoted to Marine Gunner. In August 1939, he reported to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China.

On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States declared war the next day, officially entering into World War II. On December 8, Lee and 20 other Marines prepared to fight an overwhelming Japanese force assembling outside the embassy. However, they received orders to surrender, and the Marines were taken as prisoners of war by the Japanese. They were taken to a POW camp on the island of Hokkaido, Japan, where they were routinely tortured and beaten. In August 1945, many of the Japanese guards fled the camp after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Lee and several other Marines killed some of the remaining Japanese guards and captured the camp, holding it until their liberation by American troops in September 1945. Lee and the other Marines from the embassy were the longest held American prisoners of war during World War II.

Lee was promoted to Second Lieutenant and arrived in San Francisco, California, on September 22, 1945. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in July 1946. He was given command of a rifle range at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for the next four years, before retiring as a Colonel on July 1, 1950, after 32 years of service. He later tried to return to the Marines as the United States became involved in the Korean War, but his offer was declined.

William A. Lee died of cancer on December 27, 1998, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and was buried at Quantico National Cemetery.