The story of Jack Lee as shared by the Lethbridge Military Museum
“Warrant Officer First Class (WO 1) Jack Lee was born on March 31, 1924. At the age of four, he moved to China for Chinese education and returned to Lethbridge at age 15 to work in the family dry cleaning business. When Jack turned 18 in 1942 he enlisted into the Canadian Army.
Following basic training as an infantryman he was sent to England. As a reinforcement he was sent to Europe where he joined up with the South Saskatchewan Regiment. He served with them through Belgium, Holland, and Germany.
After the end of the war, Jack came home and did guard duty at the POW camp in Lethbridge for 6 months. Following his discharge from the Army he continued to work in the dry cleaning business.
In 1951, he joined the 33rd Field Squadron Royal Canadian Engineers (Militia) and later the 18th Field Regiment Royal Canadian Artillery. He enjoyed teaching young soldiers and eventually became the Regimental Sergeant Major of the 18th Field Regiment RCA in the rank of WO I. In 1979, he was called out of retirement and was posted to Camp Shilo, Brandon, Manitoba for a few months in the summer. That was his last posting and then he was “officially” retired from his service with the Militia.
Jack was a member of the Chinese Cultural Society as well as the K-Ying Po. Jack was an avid sportsman- he played racquetball, tennis, ping-pong, golf, weight-lifting, etc. For many years he volunteered at the Lethbridge Senior Centre doing different things and also was a Tai Chi instructor.
Mr. Dot Men “Jack” Lee passed away in Lethbridge on Thursday 16 January 2014 at the age of 89 years.”