Decorated Reading Resident Retires From Army After 34 Years

READING, MA — Reading resident and police officer Michael R. Lee formally retired from the U.S. Army last month after more than three decades of service, Reading Police Chief David Clark announced last week.

Lee retired on Sept. 30, just over 34 years after he joined the Army in 1988.

Lee initially served on active duty, eventually becoming a military police officer in 1991, according to a statement from Clark and the Reading Police.

Lee then transitioned into the U.S. Army Reserves in 1993, where he rose to the rank of Sergeant First Class. Lee underwent multiple deployments over his career, spending time in warzones in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq and Afghanistan, as noted in the police department’s statement.

He served separate deployments battling forest fires in Yosemite National Park in 1990 and working at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2019.

Lee earned a variety of awards and decorations over his career and most recently served a military assignment at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee.

Lee has also worked in Reading through much of his Army career, working as an officer for the Reading Police.

Among experiences, his police role had him involved in the response to the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013 via the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council.

Raised in Peabody, Lee now lives in Reading with his wife and children.

“We could not be more proud to call him a colleague," Clark said last week. "Michael's life has exemplified his belief in service, his courage, and his dedication to the common good of all. We congratulate him on his military retirement, even as we continue to appreciate his work and contributions here in the Town of Reading."