PITTSBURGH AIR RESERVE STATION, Pa. -- “If we can change that suffering, if we can change that tragedy, it can be a powerful tool to help us grow and help other people with it,” says Capt. Jonathan M. Lee, 911th Airlift Wing chaplain, reflecting on a transformative event that led him to join the Air Force in 2020.
Although joining the Air Force five years ago, Lee’s journey to the chaplain corps began long before—shaped by hardship, trauma, and ultimately, a renewed sense of hope. Raised in a rough neighborhood of Los Angeles, Lee experienced sexual abuse at the hands of a pastor when he was just five years old—an event that deeply impacted his early view of faith and religion. Soon after his family moved to Seoul, South Korea.
Life in Seoul came with its own challenges. Lee recalled witnessing street fights between rival gangs armed with bats, knives and two-by-fours. The constant exposure to violence left a lasting impression.
“This was all before I became a Christian, but I just felt angry all the time,” Lee said. “I would get into a lot of fights and all kinds of trouble throughout my life. It got so bad that, when it was time for college, only one place accepted me—Liberty University, a Christian school.”
Lee recounts begrudgingly applying for only a few schools with the help of his mother who selected Christian institutions hoping for a positive change in her son— who had little desire in pursuing education let alone a religious path. But all that changed during his freshman year of college when a drunk driver hit him.
“I thought I was on a date with this girl during my freshman year– she actually tricked me into going to a prayer meeting on the top of Star Mountain in Roanoke,” said Lee.
Lee was in the passenger seat without a seatbelt and recalled his classmate coming to a stop before initiating a left hand turn into a four-way intersection. That's when he saw a silver mustang speeding toward his side of the car.