Sammy Lee (1920 – 2016) was born in Fresno, California to Korean immigrant parents. During high school and college he excelled at diving, winning the United States National Diving Championship before going on to achieve two gold medals and one bronze medal in the 1948 and 1952 Olympic games. Prior to this he had attended the University of Southern California School of Medicine while serving in the Army Reserves. Lee served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in South Korea from 1953 to 1955.  Due to his Olympic fame, he also served as a goodwill ambassador for the State Department, attempting to counter communist propaganda about the U.S. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1968 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1990. Sammy Lee Square in Los Angeles’ Koreatown was named after him, in addition to various sites throughout California.

Older Lee in Team USA Jacket with medal in 2012 Olympics

SAMUEL LEE

Service

KOREA

US ARMY,

MAJ

Resting Place

Mementos

Tributes

Word Cloud

undefined

Milestones

Mementos

Historical Documents

Veteran programs and services

More VA resources

Get VA updates

In crisis? Get help now

Contact us