Fearless about flying

First female Chinese American pilot honored in new book about her short but eventful life, Mingmei Li reports in New York.

All Hazel Ying Lee wanted to do was fly.

Growing up in the United States in the early 20th century, she became one of the first Chinese American women to earn a pilot's license, despite the racial and gender stereotypes of the time.

Born into an immigrant family in Oregon in 1912, Lee was one of eight children, and helped run the family business in Portland's Chinatown.

Her life was defined by her courage and adventurous spirit — qualities that led her to the skies.

In American Flygirl, Susan Tate Ankeny tells the story of Lee's dedication to flying — a passion tragically cut short in a fatal runway collision in 1944.

"For me, it was so special to walk in her footsteps," Ankeny told China Daily in an interview. "I was just the luckiest person in the world to have Hazel come to me."

Like Lee, Ankeny is also a Portland native.

"I know the area very well. I know Chinatown … I know Hazel's high school, I know where she played tennis," Ankeny says. "I also know where she was buried. So, it was just an incredible honor to be asked to write about her."

The daughter of a World War II bombardier, Ankeny had previously written The Girl and the Bombardier, an account of her father's experiences in France. After it came out, her publisher asked her if she'd be interested in telling Lee's story.

She spent the first five months sorting through information from archives, letters, photos, writings, photo albums, family pictures, newspapers, museums and other historical sources, and finished writing the book in eight months.

"In the beginning, when I was first asked, I raised the concern that I'm not Chinese American, so would I be able to write from that experience? Of course, I can't know that experience the way a person who has lived it would," she says.

"I looked everywhere, and of course, I contacted her family, and tried to find every single thing there was about her. I ended up using pretty much everything that I could find. I used a lot of firsthand accounts to tell this story."

Through extensive research, Ankeny was able to tell Lee's life in a vivid, cinematic style, writing a narrative that captures the pilot's story with flying experiences. Her use of dynamic verbs and scene-driven writing creates a filmlike experience, allowing readers to share the sensation of soaring through the sky, making forced landings on farms, and escaping from bombing during the war.

Lee worked as an elevator operator after graduating. She discovered her passion for flying when she was 19 and joined the Chinese Flying Club of Portland, which had been founded in 1932 in response to the Japanese invasion of China.

At the time, China needed pilots to combat the Japanese, and many branches of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, a group made up of local merchants and businessmen, funded people who wanted to help China by becoming pilots.

Portland, which was home to the second-largest Chinatown in the US, wasn't unique in establishing a Chinese flight school — similar schools opened across the country in cities like Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.