Born and raised in Honolulu, retired Maj. Gen. Robert Lee graduated from McKinley High School. He continued his education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He graduated in 1971 as a commissioned officer through the UH-Manoa ROTC program and was assigned to the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, Army Reserve. His service there culminated with command of the battalion in the late ’80s.

Lee later served as adjutant general for the Hawaii National Guard. His civilian career included 27 years of service overhauling nuclear submarines at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

In 2010 Lee worked with the late Sen. Daniel Inouye and retired Gen. Eric Shinseki to get a Congressional Gold Medal issued in honor of the nisei (second-generation Japanese American) soldiers of World War II. That year, Japanese Americans became the third ethnic group, after African Americans and the Navajo Code Talkers, to receive a Congressional Gold Medal for their service.

When the national nonprofit Chinese Americans Citizens Alliance started the Chinese American WWII Veterans Recognition Project, Lee was asked to bring his expertise to the project. He also was co-chair of the WWII Hawaii Chinese American Congressional Gold Medal Committee.

The Chinese American World War II Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act was signed into law at the end of 2018, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced postponement of the regional presentation ceremonies.

Lee, 73, will be one of the speakers when the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii Foundation and the Chinese American WWII Veterans Recognition Project co-host the Congressional Gold Medal luncheon Feb. 6 in the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom. Though tickets are no longer available, the luncheon will be livestreamed on the AARP Hawaii Facebook page (facebook.com/AARPHawaii) and on the Chinese American Citizens Alliance website (cacanational.org).

How long did it take to get this medal signed into law?

We lucked out because it only took one session of Congress — two years. If we hadn’t, we would have to get all the signatures again in the next session. I want to give credit to Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who is one of the original co-sponsors, for getting it across the finish line. Imagine trying to lobby Congress with COVID.

African Americans and Japanese Americans served in segregated units during WWII. Chinese Americans served with white soldiers despite racist anti-Chinese laws in some parts of the mainland. Why did the U.S. government not segregate Chinese American soldiers?

President (Franklin D.) Roosevelt said China was an ally fighting Japan, and so we’re not going to put Chinese Americans in a segregated unit.

Who are some Chinese Americans we should know about?

From Hawaii, Cmdr. Gordon Pai‘ea Chung-Hoon commanded a destroyer and received the Navy Cross and the Silver Star. Capt. Francis B. Wai received the Congressional Medal of Honor (posthumously) for his leadership in the Philippines. George Lee, the only Chinese pilot assigned to the Flying Tigers, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Silver Star; the Japanese shot him down twice (in China). But because he’d been a good boy and attended Chinese school, he could speak to the villagers and they snuck him back through the Japanese lines.

What part of the process was most ­important for you?

Being the chair of the (gold medal) ­design committee. From my past experience, I’d seen that it was important the chair be a military person. I wanted to make sure that all the services were represented, and that the design also showed a woman because Chinese American women also served. This is the only Congressional Gold Medal that has a female figure with the rest of the troops.

What comes next?

There will be two books. One is a national book, and we’re publishing a second book about Chinese Americans from Hawaii. But for the next generation to learn about what the Chinese Americans did (in World War II), everything needs to be online. Expanding our website to have all the material online is what’s next after that.

Note: The books will sold at the luncheon. They will be available through the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii later this year.

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Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.