LEE YAGEL was born in Missouri, raised in Detroit, Michigan and on the Lake Erie shores of Western New York State. He has served extensively throughout Europe, all of South America, the Pacific and Asian Rim; and has traveled all fifty US states.
From March 1943 to January 1968 he served twenty-five years in the US Army, Air Force in World War II, and in the USAF in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. His military career took him through the South Pacific, Philippines, Guam, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, South America, and Europe.
After his military career, Lee became a licensed real estate broker. He owned and operated two real estate offices for twenty years.