A Woman and a War
Cranbrook’s Jean Suey Zee, age 99, was a standout amongst Royal Canadian Air Force members, and a daughter of the city’s Chinese-Canadian community.
Lest We Forget Her — Lee, in 1924. Chinese immigrants and their descendants could not obtain full Canadian citizenship until 1947.
The path to women becoming modern-day combat pilots has a long and storied history — and a chapter of it began when Jean Suey Zee Lee was born in Cranbrook on July 26, 1924. Lee, who turns 100 years old in 2024, enlisted in the Women’s Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1942, becoming the first and only Chinese-Canadian woman to ever do so.
“The military service of Chinese-Canadians like Jean Suey Zee Lee played an essential role in our nation's history,” says Daniel Le Bouthillier, Head of Media Relations and Public Affairs, National Defence, Government of Canada.
Jean's grandfather, John Lee, immigrated to Canada from China in the early 1900s, making the Lee family pioneers of the East Kootenay at the advent of the century. John Lee became a respected community member and a prominent figure in the local business community with the opening of his general store in Cranbrook. According to files from the Cranbrook History Centre (CHC), he was succeeded by his son, Look Lee, when John passed away on May 2, 1925 at the age of 58.
Look Lee was also known as Lee Chow Man. Having inherited his father’s work ethic and distinguished reputation, he worked hard to continue the family legacy in the realms of wealth, real estate, and business. Lee Chow Man passed away at age 49 and left a generation of notable individuals behind. He and his wife had nine children — three girls and six boys — and Jean Lee was among them.
Jean Lee was an ambitious young woman who, at the age of 18, became one of over 17,000 non-combatant female officers in the RCAF. This was the first branch of the Canadian Armed Forces to invite women to serve.
She Serves — World War II propaganda aimed at recruiting women to the Allies’ effort. It wasn’t until 1988 that women could be pilot fighters.
As the women's war movement sparked fires of inspiration on the homefront while a desire to see a gender-inclusive military grew, a cross-country media campaign to recruit women into the RCAF ensued. It was complete with propagandistic images and slogans, and it was successful. These recruits were known as WDs (Women’s Division) and they played an essential role during the Second World War. The women primarily undertook operation support and clerical duties while their male counterparts participated in air combat. We Serve That Men May Fly was the motto of the RCAF's Women's Division. According to Jim Cameron's article Jean Lee of the RCAF, published in the Cranbrook Daily Townsman on November 7, 2014, Jean enlisted after visiting a Mobile Recruiting Unit in Cranbrook.
"She did basic training in Toronto and served until the war's end, mainly at the Eastern Air Command RCAF depot in Rockcliffe, Ontario,” wrote Cameron. “Along the way, she was invited to meet Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King in 1943, and in June of the same year, was posted as a member of the honour guard of Madame Chiang Kai-Shek (wife of Chinese President Chiang Kai-Shek) in Ottawa.” Jean served from 1942 to 1946 when the branch disbanded following the end of the war in 1945.
It’s worth noting that Chinese immigrants and their descendants could not obtain full Canadian citizenship until 1947. Jean Lee was one of the first of her ethnicity to receive full citizenship after Canada signed the United Nations Charter of Human Rights.
Jean’s brother, Wilson Lee, also served as a pilot officer in the RCAF during the war. Wilson fathered prominent politician Arthur John Lee, Jean's nephew, who became the first Chinese-Canadian to lead the Liberal Party. Arthur Lee represented Vancouver East from 1974 to 1979 as the Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament (MP) and then leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party from 1984 to 1987.
According to CHC Board Member Sioux Browning, little is known of Jean following her departure from service, other than that she moved to the US and, as she nears 100 years old, currently lives in Washington, DC. "She has lived very much under the radar," Browning explains of the very private Lee. Browning is currently working on an exhibit with the CHC to feature prominent Cranbrook individuals. Jean has made the list, and the tribute is well-timed, as her hundredth birthday happens this July.
People like Lee were instrumental in the evolution of women in the Canadian military who were not allowed into combat until much later. After the Women's Division of the RCAF disbanded in 1946, females were again invited to serve in 1951, but it wasn't until 1988 that women could act as fighter pilots.
Over seven decades ago, the drive and determination of these young people in the WD, many of them just girls, influenced how history would eventually view and welcome women in combat. Many female fighter pilots are now active in the Canadian military, as well as globally.
As for Jean, her bravery and patriotism paved the way for many women who came after her — the first of their kind — and who dreamt and continue to dream of taking to the skies. "Her work and many sacrifices helped make Canada a better place,” says Le Bouthillier. “We at DND/CAF are tremendously proud of her upcoming milestone and wish her the best.”
~ Erin Knutson
Find this full-length story and more in The Trench’s Spring + Summer 2024 edition: