Looking back on his wartime experiences, World War II Navy veteran Don Lee can recognize the fear of the moment and how close he came to disaster. But he can also say, "All's well that ends well."
Though he shared stories of his own close calls, Lee, 98, has enough perspective that he looks calmly on those events as he shares them with others. On Wednesday he recounted his experiences flying blimps and airplanes during the war for the World War II class at Russellville High School.
Lee was coming of age just as the war got under way. He headed west after his first year in college to visit his brother, who worked as a radio man at the South San Francisco airport.
Lee talked with his brother about whether he should enlist or plan to be drafted.
"Why don't you go to radio school like I did? Maybe you can get a good job as a radio man," his brother told him.
Lee returned to Missouri and attended a school in Kansas City. But just two weeks after enrolling, Lee found out the school had been turned over to the U.S. Army and graduates would become corporals in the signal corps.
Lee decided that wasn't for him and resigned, heading to William Jewell College, where he joined a Naval Aviation Cadet program.
At age 5, Lee remembers seeing a huge zeppelin flying over his farm. The image of the zeppelin was a contributing factor in his choice to fly blimps during the war.
Lee recounted a few harrowing stories for the students.
In 1944, while on the way back from a submarine search over the Caribbean, Lee said the crew performed an abandon ship drill. As junior pilot, Lee manned the rudder while other members of the crew went about their duties for the drill. One crew member grabbed a flare gun and accidentally triggered it, launching a burning ball of phosphorous onto the deck, directly over a 500-gallon tank full of emergency fuel, and the flare began to quickly burn a hole in the deck. The crew smothered the ball with a mattress and threw it out into the ocean, averting disaster.
Lee said the ship had an obvious depression in the floor after that. He called the experience the scariest moment of his service. But, he said, "All's well that ends well."
As the U.S. prepared for the possibility of invading Japan, the Navy asked for volunteers among the blimp pilots to train in flying planes. Lee volunteered and was trained, but the U.S. did not have to invade because Japan surrendered.
In 1945, Lee and an experienced mechanic were flying back from Waco, Texas, when Lee decided to demonstrate a "slow roll." While rotating the plane, Lee accidentally nudged the fire extinguisher in the plane loose. With a wobble of the control stick, Lee indicated to his passenger that he should take over while Lee unhooked his belt to reach the fire extinguisher. With no voice contact, the passenger misinterpreted the signal, instead taking it as a cue to demonstrate a slow roll himself.
The plane began to roll and an unbuckled Lee grabbed on tight as the fire extinguisher whipped past his head and fell to the ground. The other man in the plane didn't realize what had happened until Lee told him after landing.
"All's well that ends well," Lee said again.
There are happier memories from his days in the service as well. While training in California, Lee fondly remembers spending free days driving an old Ford to spend the day at Newport Beach.
Following the war, Lee went to college on the G.I. bill and worked in the Division of Employment Security for 30 years.
The students listened intently to Lee's stories, saw photos he shared and asked a few questions.
And one student had a gift for Lee. Lee's beloved cat of 15 years died last week, and one student brought him a docile farm cat named Hugo to take home with him. Hugo snoozed through most of Lee's talk until the end.
A few students also took a picture with Lee.
While taking a picture with a student, Lee learned she planned to go into the Air Force.
"Oh, great," he said. "Navy's good, too."
Julie Smith/News Tribune photo: Don Lee, a World War II veteran of the United States Navy, visited Denise Crider's World War II class at Russellville High School Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, to talk about his experiences in the Navy, among them flying on a zeppelin. He also had over 300 hours in an open air cockpit plane.
Julie Smith/News Tribune photo: Don Lee, a World War II veteran of the United States Navy, visited Denise Crider's World War II class at Russellville High School Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, to talk about his experiences in the Navy.
Julie Smith/News Tribune After finding out that Don Lee's 14-year-old cat passed away last week, students in Denise Crider's class at Russellville High School took it upon themselves to find one for him. Junior Jillian Schmidt had a friendly cat she thought may be perfect for the World War II US Navy veteran. Following his talk to students in Crider's WWII class, Schmidt presented the cat to him.