[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.
____________________