Willis A. Lee
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| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Shooting | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1920 Antwerp | Team 50 m small bore rifle |
|
| Gold | 1920 Antwerp | Team 300 m army rifle, prone |
|
| Gold | 1920 Antwerp | Team 600 m free rifle | |
| Gold | 1920 Antwerp | Team free rifle, 300 m + 600 m |
|
| Gold | 1920 Antwerp | Team free rifle | |
| Silver | 1920 Antwerp | Team 300 m army rifle, standing |
|
| Bronze | 1920 Antwerp | Team 100 m running deer, single shots |
|
Willis Augustus Lee, Jr. (11 May 1888 – 25 August 1945) was an admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. He was also a sport shooter and olympic competitor.
Willis "Ching" Lee was born in the rural town of Natlee in Owen County, Kentucky, on 11 May 1888. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1908. Over the next two decades, he served in several ships and on shore duty as an inspector of ordnance, while also representing the Navy in rifle competitions.
Lee participated in the Summer Olympic Games 1920 in Antwerp, winning seven medals in team events including five gold medals.
He was Commanding Officer of three destroyers during the 1920s and attended the Naval War College late in that decade.
During the 1930s and early 1940s, Lee was several times assigned to the Fleet Training Division, commanded the light cruiser Concord (CL-10), and served on the staff of Commander, Cruisers, Battle Force. In early 1942, following his promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral, Lee became Assistant Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet.
In August 1942, Rear Admiral Lee was sent to the Pacific to command a battleship division. Flying his flag in the battleship Washington (BB-56), he was active through the Guadalcanal Campaign and led his force to victory over a Japanese surface group in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on the night of 14–15 November 1942. He was later promoted to Vice Admiral in 1944 and placed in charge of the Pacific Fleet's fast battleships, as Commander Battleships Pacific Fleet.
In May 1945, he was sent to the Atlantic to command a special unit researching defenses against the Kamikaze threat. While serving in that position on 25 August 1945, Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee died suddenly after suffering a heart attack.
The Mitscher-class destroyer USS Willis A. Lee was named for him.
