[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 51 (Friday, April 19, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3707-S3708]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ADM. JAMES S. RUSSELL: IN MEMORIAM

  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, Jim Russell died last Sunday. My life and 
the lives of a legion of others are diminished as a result. Today the 
flags in Lakewood, WA, will fly at half mast for retired Adm. James 
Russell, who died last Sunday at the age of 93.
  It is difficult to compress a panegyric for Admiral Russell into a 
few short minutes, but he was, after all, a modest man who sought out 
neither praise nor glory. He eschewed grandiloquence, and so shall I. A 
simple retelling of his remarkable life will suffice.
  James Russell was born in Tacoma, WA. When he was 15 he tried to join 
the Navy, but was turned away. Undeterred, he joined the Merchant 
Marine. His official naval career began in 1922 when he entered the 
U.S. Naval Academy. He went to the California Institute of Technology 
to get a master's degree in aeronautical engineering. In 1939 he worked 
on the design of the Essex-class aircraft carriers. Seventeen of the 
Essex-class were built, and none were sunk during World War II. He not 
only helped design, but also helped serve on the carriers, where he 
was, as the Tacoma News Tribune points out, the first naval aviator to 
take off from and land on the first six U.S. aircraft carriers.
  In the war Admiral Russell served as a lieutenant commander of a 
patrol squadron in the Aleutians. He defended Dutch Harbor, and America 
against a Japanese fighter attack. Later on he fought in the Pacific 
aircraft carrier offensive that destroyed the Japanese fleet and helped 
assure the American victory. For his service, he received the 
Distinguished Service Medal twice, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and 
the Air Medal for Heroism.
  Admiral Russell was part of the military occupation in Japan. In 1946 
he became commander of the carrier USS Bairoko. In 1958 he rose to the 
No. 2 position in the Navy: vice chief of naval operations. From 1962 
to 1965 he was commander in chief of NATO forces in Southern Europe. In 
1965 he retired.
  During the post-war period Admiral Russell helped develop the F-8 
Crusader, the first of the Navy's aircrafts to fly 1,000 miles-per-
hour, for which he was awarded the Collier Trophy in 1956. The Seattle 
Post-Intelligencer quotes Admiral Russell saying in 1994 that, ``one of 
his proudest accomplishments was to have personally flown Navy aircraft 
`ranging from biplanes to supersonic fighters.' ''
  After his retirement Admiral Russell was active in his community, and 
always kept abreast of military matters. He garnered respect and 
admiration from the people around him. Dignified, courteous, gracious, 
kind--these are some of the words his friends and associates use to 
describe him. His son Donald remembers that his father not only did not 
harbor ill feelings against his former Japanese enemies, but sought to 
reconcile with some of them. When two Japanese veterans--former pilots 
who had attacked the base where Admiral Russell served in the war--came 
to the Tacoma area to attend ceremonies marking the anniversary of the 
surrender, he insisted they stay with him, at his home. One can hardly 
think of a more apt example than this to describe the word 
``gracious.'' It was for this and for a lifetime of unimpeachable 
behavior that Admiral Russell was known as Gentleman Jim.
  It was in his retirement that I met Jim Russell, who provided 
constant encouragement to me in my career--and constant wise counsel 
about the security of our beloved country as well. And so I will 
greatly miss him.
  Admiral Russell is survived by his wife, Geraldine; a son and 
daughter-in-law, Donald and Katherine Russell; a daughter-in-law, 
Anitha Russell; a stepson, Fred Rahn; a stepdaughter, Barbara Frayn; 
five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His first wife, 
Dorothy, died in 1965. My condolences and prayers go to his family.

  A few years ago Admiral Russell expressed his concern over all the 
honors he had received. ``It worries me a little,'' he said. ``I wonder 
if I've lived up to it.'' Clearly, the admiral was not a boaster. He 
did what he enjoyed; he served his country and his community, and he 
did not expect to be fussed over.
  The Tacoma News Tribune mentions the mayor of Lakewood, Bill 
Harrison's, recollection of Admiral Russell:

       Harrison said he still remembers seeing Russell during a 
     military parade, dressed in white, a sword gleaming at his 
     side.
       He was absolutely resplendent, Harrison said. That was the 
     first time I ever saw him, and that's the way I will always 
     think of him.

  What a treasure was James Sargent Russell. His life, of simple 
dignity, bravery, service, enthusiasm, and kindness, reminds us of the 
better angels of our nature.
  One of Admiral Russell's nicknames was the ancient mariner. And so, 
in Coleridge's words, let us bid ``Farewell, farewell, the Mariner is 
gone.'' Farewell, Admiral.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a front page article 
dated April 16, 1996, and a lead editorial dated April 17, 1996, from 
the Tacoma News Tribune be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

             [From the Tacoma News Tribune, Apr. 16, 1996]

         Admiral Russell, a Leader and a Gentleman, Dead at 93

                           (By Hector Castro)

       He was known as Gentleman Jim, the Gray Eagle, the Father 
     of Naval Aviation and in recent years, the Ancient Mariner.
       On Sunday, the man with so many titles, retired Adm. James 
     S. Russell, died at his Lakewood home. He was 93.
       ``I have very fond memories of him,'' Lakewood Mayor Bill 
     Harrison said. ``He became one of my heroes.''
       Russell was a Tacoma native who went away to sea as a boy 
     and returned 43 years later as a four-star admiral.
       In a career that began before World War II, Russell was a 
     Navy flier, a designer of aircraft carriers, commander of 
     nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands and commander-in-chief 
     of NATO forces in Southern Europe.
       Russell's elder son, Donald Russell of Lakewood, said his 
     father always loved the sea and the water.
       ``The last day he was alive he looked at me and said, `I 
     want to go to the lake. I want to go to the lake.' '' Donald 
     Russell said.
       James Russell was 15 when he graduated from Stadium High 
     School and immediately

[[Page S3708]]

     tried to join the Navy. He was turned away because of his 
     youth. But he wasn't put off so easily and joined the 
     Merchant Marine.
       His naval career began in 1922 when he enrolled in the U.S. 
     Naval Academy. He later attended the California Institute of 
     Technology to study aeronautical engineering.
       That education, plus his experience as a Navy flier, proved 
     invaluable when he helped design the Essex-class aircraft 
     carriers shortly before the start of World War II. The ships 
     proved to be among the toughest in the Navy. None of the 17 
     built by the start of the war was sunk.
       Donald Russell remembers the start of the war, and his 
     father's last words to him before shipping out.
       ``If I don't come back from the war, take care of your 
     mother,'' Donald Russell said he was told. He was 11 years 
     old at the time.
       James Russell was a lieutenant commander of a patrol 
     squadron during the war. At one time, he patrolled in the 
     Alaskan Theater and helped fend off an attack by Japanese 
     fighters on the American base at Dutch Harbor.
       His actions during wartime earned him the Distinguished 
     Flying Cross and the Air Medal for Heroism.
       After the war, Russell rose to become second in command of 
     the U.S. Navy. When he retired in 1965, he was commander-in-
     chief of NATO forces in Southern Europe, based in Italy.
       That's when Harrison first met him. At the time, Harrison 
     was a captain in the Army, though he retired as a three-star 
     general.
       The admiral, he said, immediately impressed him with his 
     dignity and courtly manners.
       Harrison saw the admiral's diplomacy at work, whether he 
     was negotiating a peace between Greece and Turkey for 
     smoothing over the boorish remarks of a fellow officer at a 
     social function.
       ``I never saw him when he wasn't spic and span, doing and 
     saying the right things,'' Harrison said.
       Russell married Dorothy Johnson in 1929 and they had two 
     sons, Donald and Kenneth. Dorothy Russell died in 1965, and 
     Russell married Geraldine Rahn in 1966. She survives him.
       Friends and family members said Russell enjoyed talking 
     about his experiences, but never boasted.
       ``He was a very modest man,'' said Paul Hunter, staff 
     commodore of the Tacoma Yacht Club. ``He was not arrogant.''
       After his retirement, Russell became very involved in local 
     community and military affairs. His popularity was such that 
     last year civic leaders from around Tacoma pushed for a 
     maritime park for him.
       The park was not named for Russell, but he has received 
     plenty of other honors.
       They include France's highest award, the Legion of Honor, 
     Greece's Order of King George I, Italy's Order of the 
     Republic, Peru's Great Cross of Naval Merit, and Brazil's 
     Order of Naval Merit. The USO Center at SeaTac bears his 
     name.
       His grandson, Malcolm Russell, also of Lakewood, said his 
     grandfather's home could pass for a military museum. Walls 
     and bookcases are filled with medals, awards and signed 
     photos from such people as John F. Kennedy and King Paul of 
     Greece.
       Donald Russell said his father never hated his wartime 
     enemies, and had invited Japanese military men and veterans 
     of the war to his Lakewood home.
       ``He reconciled with his enemies,'' the younger Russell 
     said. ``It was extraordinarily important to him.''
       Harrison said he still remembers seeing Russell during a 
     military parade, dressed in white, a sword gleaming at his 
     side.
       ``He was absolutely resplendent,'' Harrison said. ``That 
     was the first time I ever saw him, and that's the way I will 
     always think of him.''
                                                                    ____


             [From the Tacoma News Tribune, Apr. 17, 1996]

               Admiral Russell Gave a Lifetime of Service

       Retired four-star admiral James S. Russell, the most 
     distinguished military leader to come out of Tacoma, was 
     reflecting a few years ago on all the honors that had come 
     his way.
       ``It worries me a little, I wonder if I've lived up to 
     it,'' he said with typical modesty.
       The admiral shouldn't have worried. The honors were well-
     deserved, and he wore them with surpassing grace.
       Russell died peacefully at his Lakewood home Sunday at the 
     age of 93. He is remembered not only for his 43 years of 
     service to the nation as a much-decorated naval aviator and 
     commanding officer, but for the years he spent here since his 
     retirement in 1965 as a goodwill ambassador to military 
     newcomers and visitors.
       Russell graduated from Stadium High School at 15, and too 
     young to enlist in the Navy, joined the Merchant Marine. A 
     U.S. Naval Academy graduate, he earned a master's degree in 
     aeronautical engineering at Cal Tech and went on to help 
     design the tough Essex-class aircraft carriers in 1939. He 
     was the first naval aviator to take off from and land on the 
     first six U.S. aircraft carriers.
       After distinguished service as a patrol squadron lieutenant 
     commander in the Aleutians during World War II, Russell took 
     command of his first carrier, the USS Bairoko, in 1946. He 
     became vice chief of naval operations, the Navy's No. 2 
     position, in 1958, and was commander in chief of NATO forces 
     in Southern Europe from 1962 until he retired in 1965. He was 
     recalled to active duty twice.
       One of the more revealing stories about Russell was about 
     the graciousness he showed to one-time enemies. Two former 
     Japanese pilots who had attacked the Aleutians base where 
     Russell served in World War II were in the area last summer 
     to participate in ceremonies marking the anniversary of the 
     surrender. Russell, who insisted they stay in his home, said 
     he felt no animosity toward those who once tried their 
     hardest to kill him.
       It's entirely professional. There were in their service, I 
     was in mine, and we understand one another.''
       That attitude was typical of ``Gentleman Jim'' Russell, the 
     consummate professional who earned the respect of everyone 
     from swabbies to heads of state.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Gorton). Under the previous order, the 
Senator from Connecticut is recognized.

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