Lost While Training to Fight

This Memorial Day, we pay tribute to all those who gave their lives in military service to our country. We preserve their legacy in the artifacts we safeguard and the stories we tell.

One such story is that of Ens. Roy Len Lee, one of thousands of Americans during World War II who left their families to fight for their country only to die in training. In mid-January 1943 during a gunnery training flight off the coast of North Carolina, Lee had to bail out of his U.S. Navy Grumman F4F Wildcat for unknown reasons.

Growing up, aeronautics curator Russ Lee knew little of his Uncle Len's life or flying career, but he recently found a collection of photographs and correspondence from his uncle that provided valuable insight into his service and sacrifice.

Read the blog, including excerpts from his letters, to learn more about Ensign Lee.