Current data for Contributor

Smither, James (Interviewer)

Current data for Creator

Stevens, Lee

Current data for Date

2016-01-16

Current data for Description

Lee Stevens was born in Manila, Philippines, on August 21, 1930. He was 11 years old when the Japanese attacked the Philippines on December 8, 1941, and witnessed the invasion and occupation of the Philippines by the Japanese. His father, a captain in the U.S. Army, was taken prisoner and interned at Cabanatuan prisoner-of-war camp until his death aboard a "hell ship" in late January (or early February) 1945. Lee was interned with his grandfather at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila for the duration of the occupation, but his Spanish stepmother and his half-brother were allowed to be free due to not being American. On February 3, 1945, troops from the 1st Cavalry Division liberated Santo Tomas and on August 27, 1945, he and his grandfather left the Philippines. After completing college, he was drafted into the Army in 1954 and received his basic training at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas. He received Intelligence Training at Fort Holabird, Maryland, and was initially assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. Due to being the godson of General Douglas MacArthur and his grandfather maintaining contact with the general, Lee was reassigned to Third Army Headquarters at Fort McPherson, Georgia. He was discharged in 1956.

Current data for Source

Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)