Born in Shanghai in 1929, Lee came of age during the upheavals of World War II and the Chinese Civil War. As a student in Beijing, he met a visiting U.S. serviceman, Peter Mills, who encouraged him to pursue an education in the United States—a promise that would later shape his life.
In 1949, as Communist forces advanced, Lee fled China and eventually arrived in the United States. With Mills’s support, he was admitted to Colby College on a scholarship. At Colby, Lee was known for his outgoing personality and quickly integrated into campus life, graduating in 1953 with a degree in history and government.
Shortly after graduation, Lee became a naturalized U.S. citizen (1954) and embarked on a distinguished military career. He served in the U.S. Army for more than three decades, ultimately retiring as a colonel. His service reflected a deep commitment to his adopted country, shaped by his experiences of displacement and opportunity.
Lee passed away on March 30, 2022, at the age of 92. He is remembered both as one of the very few Chinese students at Colby in the early 1950s and as a figure whose life bridged China and the United States during a period of global transformation.