Army gives Hawaii veteran posthumous community service award

Sgt. Maj. Henry Lee lied about his age when he joined the Army at age 15.

Born and raised in Wahiawa, Lee was on Oahu when Japanese forces attacked it on Dec. 7, 1941, and he was determined to fight. He would ultimately have a long military career, serving in three wars before returning to Oahu to finish his education and become an educator himself.

Lee died in January at the age of 92, but during a Friday night ceremony at Fort Shafter’s historic Palm Circle, U.S. Army Pacific recognized him posthumously with its 2023 Mana o ke Koa Award, a community service award for people who have supported military families and fostered good relations between the Army and the local community.

USARPAC commander Gen. Charles Flynn presented the award to Lee’s family.

“Henry was a great man, a friend and a constant source of support for not only the Army, but also the local community,” Flynn said. “Henry was the living embodiment of selfless service — through his time in the Army, through his dedication to his family, to our veterans and their families, and to his Hawaiian community.”

After he enlisted, the Army sent Lee to Europe, where he found himself guarding German prisoners of war. He’d missed most of the fighting during World War II. But he would go on to see heavy fighting in the wars in Korea and Vietnam, receiving a Purple Heart in the process and becoming the Army’s first Korean American sergeant major.

He left the Army in 1968 and returned to the island, where he attended the University of Hawaii and received his bachelor’s degree. He became a schoolteacher and worked at schools in Nanakuli and Waianae. He also served on the boards of several veterans and community organizations. He would eventually serve as chairman of the Hawaii State Boxing Commission and became a dance instructor at the Wahiawa Ballroom Organization and Dance Club.

“His premise was he was a soldier for life,” his son Henry Lee Jr. told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “He was proud of his military experience, and he wanted to always bring the military and the community together, you know, because he knew we need each other to be successful. And that’s why he got involved in so many things.”

Lee’s family was presented a medallion and a certificate for the award. The award also includes a perpetual handcrafted Hawaiian kahili that is kept at the USARPAC headquarters.

The Army first began presenting the award in 2007 with William Paty Jr., a legendary World War II paratrooper who fought in the Normandy Invasion, as the first recipient. Other recipients have included former U.S. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, former U.S. Rep. Mark Takai, Hawaii Judge Ed Kubo and former Gov. Linda Lingle.