Bing Tim Lee Asian-American Veteran
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Bing Tim Lee
Asian-American Veteran
Bing Tim Lee was born May 24, 1925, in
Hoisan, China. 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 New Guinea, Philippines, 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 Luzon 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 Japan. 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.You can also read
