Less than 5 foot 2 inches tall, it is hard to
imagine this elderly man of small stature to be a two-time Olympian honored by
so many accolades. Dr. Samuel “Sammy” Lee, a Korean American physician who has
left an indelible mark as an American champion diver, is still a force to be
reckoned with. His achievements as a diver are well documented. He won three
Olympic medals, a gold medal in the 10-meter platform and a bronze in the
three-meter springboard competitions from 1948 Olympic Games in London; another
gold medal was won in the 10 meter platform from Helsinki in 1952. As the
oldest person to win a gold medal in diving at age 32, Dr. Lee, the first Asian
American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States, was also the first
male diver to win consecutive diving gold medals. He was the first Asian
American to be awarded in 1953 the James E. Sullivan Memorial Award as
outstanding U.S. amateur athlete.
Being a star athlete and coach was just another
title to many he will receive in his lifetime. He received his medical degree
from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1947, later becoming an
ear, nose and throat specialist. A fervent patriot, he served in World War II
and as a Major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in South Korea from 1953–55.
According to an anecdote, the Army asked Major Lee to treat then South Korean
President Syngman Rhee for an ear infection. “Yes, I took care of Syngman Rhee.
It was severe “otitis externa,” due to his scratching,” said Lee. President
Rhee in turn organized a ceremony at the Blue House (Korean White House) and
honored Lee for his Sullivan Award. Living in Southern California with his
Chinese American wife, Roz, Dr. Lee will be turning 94 this August.
Dr. David Ko, editor in chief of WKMJ, and Dr.
Jinha Park, board member of WKMO, visited Dr. Lee to talk about his illustrious
life and the time when only a few Asian Americans practiced medicine.
Cheerfully welcoming them into his home, Dr. Lee reminisced fondly his old
mentor. “My hero is Dr. Kihyung Kwon, who could do seven open heart surgeries a
day, whereas other heart surgeons took seven hours to operate just one case,”
he said with chuckles. “There weren’t many of us – Asian American medical
doctors – back then, but we were skillful physicians dedicated to our patients
and the practice of medicine. I would like to congratulate WKMO for continuing
that legacy by extending tender loving care to all Americans and beyond, and
showing how compassionate Koreans are.” Dr. Lee’s life journey had a humble
start in California’s San Joaquin Valley, born to Korean parents who emigrated
from Korea. The Lees had tried truck farming in Fresno, which was destroyed by
fire before they moved to Bunker Hill where they opened a grocery store. Raised
in Highland Park, Lee encountered many obstacles due to widespread racism and
inequality in America, as people of colors, including Asians, were often
discriminated. But those difficulties did not deter him from embracing his American
dream, a value instilled by his father Soonkee Rhee who spoke to young Lee
about inner fortitude and the importance of citizenship.
Lee was a boy scout at Yorkdale Grammar School
and was cheerleader at Luther Burbank Junior High School. While at Franklin
High School, he became an all “A” student and voted to be the first non-white
student body president in 1939. His turning point in life came when he
graduated from Occidental College in 1943, the year he lost his father to a
massive brain hemorrhage. He had promised his father to become a medical
doctor, so he got into USC where he also joined the Army reserves to pay for
his tuition. There, he enrolled in an accelerated program that condensed a
four-year medical curriculum into two years and nine months. Due to the
outbreak of World War II, the United States was desperately in need of doctors.
Struggling to keep up with studies, he even flunked out of school at one point.
However, helped by friends from fraternities
who shared copies of past exams, Lee graduated from USC Medical School in June
1946 and was as - signed to the McCornack Army Hospital in Pasadena as first
lieutenant.
Dr. Lee joked that he became a great diver,
because “Every time I did poorly on an exam, I would go to the pool to dive and
relax.” He went on to become an Olympic diving champion in 1948 alongside
Miller Anderson and Bruce Harlan. He would finish his residency in ear, nose
and throat diseases at Letterman Army Hospital and was assigned to the 121st
EVAC hospital outside of Seoul. In 1954, Lee became Goodwill Sports Ambassador
for the U.S. in Southeast Asia.
He went into private practice after resigning
his Regular Army Commission as Major and hoped to establish a medical practice
in Santa Ana by the mid-1950s. But local doctors weren’t supportive of his
move, while developers in Garden Grove refused to sell him a house despite his
highly respectable reputation as an Olympian. The Lees were able to secure
their home only after Scott Newhall, the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle,
and even conservative presses such as The Santa Ana Register and Long Beach
Press Telegram came to the Lees’ defense. Newhall said, “The story of Major
Lee’s reception in Garden Grove will embarrass our country in the eyes of the
world.”
Although he suffers from dementia since 2013,
Dr. Lee remains in great spirit and health, with years of hard work and glory
behind him. He has been honored as a member of the US Olympic Hall of Fame,
with a landmark in Los Angeles’ Koreatown dedicated to him as the Sammy Lee
Square in 2010. Recently, Central Region Elementary School #20 was renamed the
Dr. Sammy Lee Medical and Health Sciences Magnet School in 2013.
Beaming as he talks about his two children, Pamela and Sammy II, and three grandchildren he adores, he told the Los Angeles Times, “I no longer worry about heaven because I get to play with three angels on planet Earth.” Dr. Lee is a true role model for rising above harsh discrimination and the naysayers who doubted that he could achieve excellence as both a physician and an athlete. Here is to his lasting legacy of the American dream and undefeated spirit that live on in all of us.