Lee R. Hartell

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Battery A, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2d Infantry Division

One of the main roads at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, was renamed Hartell Boulevard in his honor. The Connecticut Army National Guard has named its training installation in Windsor Locks Camp Hartell in his honor. Camp Hartell, at one time the location of the 1st Battalion, 79th Artillery (1960–1971), 7th Infantry Division, Munsan-ni, Korea, was also named in his honor. He had been a resident of Danbury and Lee Hartell Drive in Danbury was posthumously named in his honor. The "Hartell House" is a general officers mess named in his honor which has proudly served the Commanding Generals of United Nations Command, ROK/US Combined Forces Command, United States Forces Korea, and Eighth U.S. Army. He is commemorated by a memorial on the front lawn of the Danbury War Memorial building at the corner of South Street and Memorial Drive. Lee Hartell Chapter 25 of the Disabled American Veterans in Danbury is named for him. He was laid to rest at St. Peter's Cemetery in Danbury.

By August 26, 1951, First Lieutenant Hartell was on the ground as a forward observer with B Company, 9th Infantry Regiment at the base of Hill 700 near Kobanson-ni. Hill 700 was attacked and taken by B Company that day. But the Chinese mounted a major counterattack at 04:00. Hartell walked the artillery fire right up the hill on top of the charging enemy. Although wounded, he kept calling in artillery fire onto his hilltop. Finally at 06:30 hours, Hartell was hit in the chest by a bullet and died.

Place and date: Near Kobangsan-ni, Korea, August 27, 1951

On August 8, 1946, he rejoined the Connecticut National Guard as a Second Lieutenant and served as an artillery officer with the 963rd Field Artillery battalion. He was then discharged from the National Guard on January 12, 1948 to enter active duty service. He was deployed to Korea as part of Battery A, 15th Artillery Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Division. He was killed in action on August 27, 1951.

Lee enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard on June 20, 1940 in the 192nd Field Artillery Battalion. He transferred to active duty on September 22, 1942 and was wounded in action in the South Pacific on June 19, 1943. He then transferred to Battery C of the 31st Battalion, 8th Field Artillery training regiment at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and was discharged from active duty on July 1, 1945. He was discharged from the Connecticut National Guard the following day.

Lee Ross Hartell (August 23, 1923 – August 27, 1951) was a soldier in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 27, 1951 during the Battle of Bloody Ridge. He joined the Army from Danbury, Connecticut in 1949.