John Elwood Lee, USN

Born  20 Sep 1908Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware, USA
Died  5 Jan 2002(93)Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego County, California, USA

Ranks

1 Jul 1937 Lt.
1 Jan 1942 T/Lt.Cdr.
30 Jun 1942 Lt.Cdr.
15 Oct 1942 T/Cdr.
1 Apr 1949 T/Capt.

Retired: 1957


Decorations

Oct/Apr 43 Navy Cross (1)
Jul/Aug 44 Navy Cross (1)
Sep/Nov 44 Navy Cross (1)

Warship Commands listed for John Elwood Lee, USN


ShipRankTypeFromTo
USS S-12 (117)Lt.Submarine4 Nov 1940Apr 1942
USS Grayling (209)Lt.Cdr.SubmarineSep 1942Jul 1943
USS Croaker (246)T/Cdr.Submarine21 Apr 194410 Nov 1944

Career information

He retired as a U.S. Navy Rear Admiral.

Sources

militaryheritage.com. Rear Admiral John Elwood Lee, 1908-2002
militarytimes.com. John Elwood Lee

Events related to this officer

Submarine USS Grayling (209)


19 Oct 1942
USS Grayling (Lt.Cdr. John Elwood Lee) departed Pearl Harbor for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off Truk.

3 Dec 1942 (position -3.00, 128.00)
USS Grayling (Lt.Cdr. J.E. Lee) sank a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire west off Seram in the Netherlands East Indies in approximate position 03°00'S, 128°00'E.

13 Dec 1942
USS Grayling (Lt.Cdr. J.E. Lee) ended her 4th war patrol at Fremantle, Australia.

7 Jan 1943
USS Grayling (Lt.Cdr. J.E. Lee) departed Fremantle for her 5th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Philippines

26 Jan 1943 (position 13.16, 121.16)
USS Grayling (Lt.Cdr. J.E. Lee) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant Ushio Maru (749 GRT) in the Verde Island Passage, north of Mindoro, Philippines in position 13°26'N, 121°16'E.

24 Feb 1943
USS Grayling (Lt.Cdr. J.E. Lee) ended her 5th war patrol at Fremantle.

18 Mar 1943
USS Grayling (Lt.Cdr. J.E. Lee) departed Fremantle for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Philippines.

9 Apr 1943 (position 13.11, 121.45)
USS Grayling (Lt.Cdr. J.E. Lee) torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship Shanghai Maru (4103 GRT) some ten miles east of Dumali Point, Mindoro, Philippines in position 13°11'N, 121°45'E.

25 Apr 1943
USS Grayling (Lt.Cdr. J.E. Lee) ended her 6th war patrol at Fremantle.

18 May 1943
USS Grayling (Lt.Cdr. J.E. Lee) departed Fremantle for her 7th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea northwest of Borneo.

22 Jun 1943 (position 4.03, 103.57)
USS Grayling (Lt.Cdr. J.E. Lee) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese tanker Eiyo Maru (8673 GRT, offsite link) east of Malaya in position 04°03'N, 103°57'E.

6 Jul 1943
USS Grayling (Lt.Cdr. John Elwood Lee) ended her 7th war patrol at Fremantle.


Submarine USS Croaker (246)


29 Jun 1944
USS Croaker (Cdr. J.E. Lee) arrived at Pearl Harbor from New London.

19 Jul 1944
USS Croaker (Cdr. J.E. Lee) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 1st war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea.

7 Aug 1944 (position 32.09, 129.53)
USS Croaker (Cdr. J.E. Lee) torpedoed and sank the Japanese light cruiser Nagara (offsite link) about 35 nautical miles south of Nagasaki, Japan in position 32°09'N, 129°53'E.

14 Aug 1944 (position 37.25, 125.12)
USS Croaker (Cdr. J.E. Lee) torpedoed and sank the Japanese auxiliary gunboat Daigen Maru No.7 (1289 GRT) south-west of Inchon, Korea in position 37°25'N, 125°12'E.

16 Aug 1944 (position 36.16, 125.49)
USS Croaker (Cdr. J.E. Lee) torpedoed and sank the Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Taito Maru (267 GRT) west of Korea in position 36°16'N, 125°49'E.

17 Aug 1944 (position 35.33, 126.10)
USS Croaker (Cdr. J.E. Lee) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Yamatero Maru (6862 GRT) off the west coast of Korea in position 35°33'N, 126°10'E.

31 Aug 1944
USS Croaker (Cdr. J.E. Lee) ended her 1st war patrol at Midway.

23 Sep 1944
USS Croaker (Cdr. J.E. Lee) departed from Midway for her 2nd war patrol. Once again she was ordered to patrol in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea.

9 Oct 1944 (position 32.08, 129.51)
USS Croaker (Cdr. J.E. Lee) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Shinki Maru (2211 GRT) west of Kyushu, Japan in position 32°08'N, 129°51'E.

23 Oct 1944 (position 35.29, 126.05)
USS Croaker (Cdr. J.E. Lee) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Hakuran Maru (887 GRT) in the Yellow Sea, off the west coast of Korea in position 35°29'N, 126°05'E.

24 Oct 1944 (position 33.00, 125.49)
USS Croaker (Cdr. J.E. Lee) torpedoed and sank the Japanese army cargo ship Mikage Maru (2741 GRT) and the Japanese passenger/cargo ship Gassan Maru (4515 GRT) south-west of Quelpart Island in position 33°00'N, 125°49'E.

10 Nov 1944
USS Croaker (Cdr. J.E. Lee) ended her 2nd war patrol at Pearl Harbor.


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