Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee will discuss the compelling stories of five American soldiers captured and held as prisoners of war by the Germans during World War II during a lunchtime meeting next week, a press release said.
The Lunch with the League is scheduled from 12-1 p.m. Tuesday, February 15. The meeting will be virtual, meaning it will be online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lunch is hosted by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and the public is welcome to attend the virtual meeting.
“Personal history led Justice Lee to her interest in World War II, specifically POWs, and how their experiences shaped their lives after release,” the press release said. “Justice Lee’s father was a World War II POW. Although Justice Lee describes her family as being very patriotic and her father faithfully flying an American flag, their family did not talk about her father’s wartime experiences when she was growing up. Her interest in World War II POWs was sparked by ‘Soldiers and Slaves,’ a book shared with her by then Chancellor Arnold Goldin from Memphis, which later led her to research and prepare a presentation entitled ‘American Heroes With Common Bonds.'”
This presentation tells the story of five POWs—David Goldin, Hugh Ross, Harold Leibowitz, Charles Lee (Justice Lee’s father), and Bruce Foster, Sr.—whose children became lawyers and judges. Their common story is that of optimism, discipline, and an enormous desire to live, the press release said. Once home, they raised families and instilled in their children a sense of patriotism and a desire to serve, the release said.
“When the daily media is filled with divisive news, it is worthwhile to be reminded that patriotism is what binds us together as Americans and keeps us focused on building a more just democracy,” the press release said.
Lee has served on the Tennessee Supreme Court for the past 13 years. She graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee College of Business and the University of Tennessee College of Law, the press release said. She was in private practice from 1978 until 2004, when she was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Lee was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2008, elected in 2010, and re-elected in 2014. She was chief justice from 2014 until 2016. Additionally, Lee has served on the Knoxville Bar Association Board of Governors, as president of East Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women, and as a board member for the Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women, the East Tennessee Historical Society, the Knoxville YWCA, and the Monroe County Boys and Girls Club. She has also served as a fellow of the American, Tennessee, and Knoxville Bar Foundations and as an honorary member of the 2014 Congressional Medal of Honor Convention Committee, the press release said.
Lunch with the League welcomes League members and nonmembers alike to this presentation. For instruction on linking to the live presentation, contact [email protected]. All League members will receive an email with the Zoom link prior to the meeting, the press release said. A couple of days following the presentation, you may view the recorded presentation on the League’s website at https://my.lwv.org/tennessee/oak-ridge.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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