John Lee Serves His Country
John Lee cuts a dashing figure in his U.S. Marine Corps uniform. The 2006 Huntington High School alum graduated from the United States Naval Academy last May and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He recently started The Basic School at Quantico, Virginia last month and is proudly serving his country.
Mr. Lee's family spent a week in the Annapolis area in the run-up to the commencement ceremony. Vice-President Joe Biden was the graduation's keynote speaker and the crowd found him funny and amusing enough to hold everyone's attention. Mr. Lee's father, former Huntington School Board President Robert T. Lee, said "it was quite a ceremony and it was nice to see it in person after seeing pictures of it for so many years."
During his years at Huntington High School, Mr. Lee was a leader. He earned sterling grades and was a top athlete on the football, basketball and track teams, pacing the Blue Devils to county football and basketball crowns.
All newly commissioned Marine Corps officers are sent to The Basic School for a 26-week program in the art and science of being an officer. The curriculum includes infantry tactics and small unit leadership. When Mr. Lee completes his studies there, he will go on to flight school in Pensacola, Florida to begin pilot training.
After graduating, and prior to the start of TBS (The Basic School), Mr. Lee worked in Quantico at the Marine Corps Information Operations Center, which focuses on counterinsurgency in the information realm and encompasses a wide range of actions and operations.
The Huntington grad is one of only five Marines in the 2010 U.S. Naval Academy graduating class to be named a Burke Scholar, which allows him to go to the Naval Post Graduate College in Monterey, California for his master's degree in engineering after his first tour of duty.
At the Naval Academy, Mr. Lee majored in ocean engineering and minored in Japanese. He graduated 'with merit,' which requires a minimum grade point average of 3.4.
The Naval Academy also nominated Mr. Lee to be an Olmsted Scholar. Should he earn the scholarship, he will be able to pursue two years of graduate study in Japanese along with spending time in Japan. During his four year at the Naval Academy, he studied in Japan for a stretch of time.
Each year, at least three graduates from each service academy and three career officer graduates from the ROTC are competitively selected Olmsted Scholars. Should Mr. Lee be one of the fortunate honorees, it wouldn't shock anyone at his alma mater.
"John's take-charge qualities were evident to all of us while he was in high school," Superintendent John J. Finello said. "To say we are proud of him now is an understatement. He is a remarkable young man and we salute his service to our country."