Foil: 17 Panel: 3 Column: 2 Line: 40

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Ms. Peggy Laz Recknagel

Lieutenant Junior Grade
U.S. Navy; 1942 - 1945
Lee Laz has been fascinated by airplanes since childhood. As Lee tells it, “I had always liked planes, and before the war I had the opportunity to get my pilot’s license. They had CPT (Civilian Pilot Training Program). As some turbulence was starting, the government was trying to generate interest in getting pilots ready. So that’s how I learned to fly . . . the government paid for it and I was still going to North Central College (IL)”.
Although he was 18 at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Lee tried to enlist as a Navy pilot. Yet, the Navy would not accept cadets in the aviation program until the age of 19, with two complete years of college. Not to be deterred, Lee enrolled in secondary CPT training in a bigger, more powerful plane. By the time he finished, he had 100 flying hours before going into the Navy in 1942. Lee piloted the Curtis Helldiver SB2C as a dive bomber off the USS wasp CV-18 while serving in the Pacific.
At the National WWII Memorial Dedication in May 2004, Lee recognized that he had been actively involved in most of the major battles in the Pacific War (which were carved into stones surrounding the base of the monument). As a result of Lee’s valiant service to our country, he received several medals and citations, including the Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, 2nd Air Medal, Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, Philippine Presidential Citation and Philippine Liberation Medal and WWII Victory Medal. The Navy Cross honored Lee’s courageous attack and direct hit on the Japanese destroyer, the Yamato, in the battle of Leyte Gulf.
After WWII, Lee completed his degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Illinois. He continued to fly private planes for pleasure for many years, and even took on the challenge of starting to build his own bi-plane. Lee ultimately sold his carefully crafted handiwork to a Canadian, who completed the airplane Lee had started.
Lee continues to be fascinated with aircraft, and more recently enjoyed piloting gliders, as he felt that this was the “truest” form of flying. While growing up, we (his daughters) delighted in hearing our Dad’s fascinating Ware stories – some of which he has highlighted in Aurora, Illinois area speaking engagements, and in the non-fiction book, Fox Valley Veterans by George Rawlinson.