Korean Family Grateful For Support For Soldier Son

PRISCILLA GREEAR, Staff Writer

Published: December 9, 2004

ATLANTA—Playing ball was outlawed in the house, but Joey Lee recalls at age 6 doing just that, tossing a tennis ball one night when Mom was away until it hit and broke, of all things, a statue of Jesus.

He was lying on his bed and sobbing as he awaited punishment from his mother, when his innocent big brother Andy stepped in and took all the blame and punishment for the incident.

This Advent Joey Lee, now 21, reflects on his beloved brother’s valiant, sacrificial spirit as a soldier in the U.S. Army serving southwest of Baghdad, Iraq.

“Years later my brother continues to protect me on a much bigger scale, as he serves the United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Granted there are some that will argue that the troops are not directly protecting us; however, his commitment to his duties to serve his country in a hostile environment should be seen as nothing short of defending our nation,” said Joey Lee.

Andy, now 25, and two of his three siblings in this Korean-American family graduated from St. Pius X High School in Atlanta. Andy attended Georgia Tech and then transferred to Georgia State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics. He drifted away from the faith after high school, and Joey Lee jokes that “I learned what not to do from him.” But then Andy reconnected after college, even becoming youth minister for two years at the family’s parish, the Korean Martyrs Church, Doraville.

He had wanted to join the Navy since boyhood and, drawn to the structure and discipline of the military, he enlisted in October 2003 and was sent for basic and then job training. He is a private first class in the 1st 503D Infantry Regiment.

“He joined because he felt there was something more to do in life and definitely he wanted to give it a try,” Joey Lee said. He received his orders from the President to relieve other exhausted troops in May 2004 and was deployed to Kuwait in August and then Iraq in September, where he drives an armored vehicle.

Joey Lee spoke of the contribution his brother made to youth ministry before joining the armed forces, bridging a relationship with the archdiocese, starting new programs with retreats and summer camps and forming strong spiritual friendships with youth who respected him. He loves the church, and his strong religious foundation was laid through religion classes at St. Pius. Joey Lee also served as a youth leader at the parish, but decided it was too much when his brother was deployed.

Joey Lee believes Andy’s faith gave him a sense of peace and security when he headed overseas. His family has sent him a missal and crucifix that he keeps at his bedside, but there is a limit to the number of religious items they can send. Andy told them he is unable to attend weekly Mass in Iraq due to the shortage of priests.

“He wrote how much he took for granted the beauty and sanctity of the Eucharist. He feels the enormous absence of the body of Christ, and yearns for it more than my mother’s homemade cooking. If there is a lesson to be learned from this story, let it be that the presented gifts on the altar by our humble priests in Mass every Sunday are something to be cherished, nourished and loved dearly,” Joey Lee said. “He is able to maintain his faith. I think we struggle with our faith more than he does.”

As far as care-package requests, “the only thing he wants is American food.”

The weekend of Dec. 5 Korean Martyrs Church finished up a collection of food and other items to send in a Christmas care package for him.

The Lee family communicates with him through e-mail, and Andy calls them about once a week. During the precious phone calls, they don’t talk much about the operations.

“Every time we get an e-mail from him, it’s a mental victory. We’ve got to live life one day at a time,” Joey Lee said. “We’re hanging in there. It’s definitely tough, but we’re good.”

While the violence is distressing, Andy has told the family there are more good things going on, in the areas of development and aid, that aren’t being reported. Joey Lee said his brother’s spirits were good until the November military offensive on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, in which he was involved, and during which he had to help restrain one wounded man. “After that his spirits were definitely low.”

He had to move to a new base after one was attacked. He sometimes wonders why God has placed him there, but is “perfectly confident” and determined in his mission. “He just sticks with the situation, and if the situation calls for it he does it,” Joey Lee said.

Their parents, Yong (Luke) and Jae Sook (Theresa) Tjo, always very active in the church, now attend daily Mass to pray for Andy. It will be a quiet Christmas, the first one Andy has missed with his family.

Joey and the whole Lee family ask for prayer for Andy and extend their gratitude to their parish priest Father Jean Seo, SJ, the Marist priests that guide parish teens, Father Dan Fleming and all others who continue to pray for him as he works to help establish a peaceful democracy in Iraq.

“He literally is my best friend. He can be a disciplinarian, but … he’s the type of brother who’s willing to sacrifice himself and go through hardship to protect his little brother and that’s the type of brother he is to me,” Joey Lee said. “My family, especially my brother, would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to the great Catholic community that has kept us in prayer through this time.”