James Sargent Russell (March 22, 1903 – April 14, 1996) was an admiral in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Biography

Russell was born in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, the son of noted architect Ambrose J. Russell and Loella Janet (Sargent) Russell. He attended DeKoven Hall School and graduated from Stadium High School in 1918. He joined the Merchant Marine as an ordinary seaman, before entering the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 1922. He graduated, and was commissioned as

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

, on 3 June 1926. Russel served aboard the battleship . He entered the flight training program at

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United Sta ...

, and was designated a

Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

in 1929. In the next decade he was assigned to tours of aviation duty both aboard ship and ashore, and also obtained a Master of Science degree in

Aeronautical Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

. In July 1941 Russell joined Patrol Squadron 42 (VP-42), a PBY squadron based in the

Aleutians The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain of 14 main, larger volcanic island ...

, and on August 16 of that same year, assumed command. When the United States entered World War II he led VP-42 into action against Japanese forces in the

Aleutian Islands Campaign The Aleutian Islands campaign () was a military campaign fought between 3 June 1942 and 15 August 1943 on and around the Aleutian Islands in the American theater (World War II), American Theater of World War II during the Pacific War. It was t ...

, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

for his actions in leading his squadron against the enemy in "extremely hazardous weather conditions". Later that same year he was awarded the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

for his "exceptionally meritorious" services in establishing advanced bases in the area and operating his squadron from them. His squadron was itself also awarded a

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy A navy, naval force, military m ...

. While in command of VP-42, Russell played a key role in the capture of the

Akutan Zero The Akutan Zero, also known as Koga's Zero (古賀のゼロ) and the Aleutian Zero, was a Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Mitsubishi A6M2 Model 21 Zero Japanese fighter aircraft piloted by Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga, that Emergency landing, crash-lan ...

. Russell returned to Washington for duty in the office of the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...

and the

Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and rela ...

. He then returned to the Pacific as chief of staff to the commander of Carrier Division 2, part of the

Fast Carrier Task Force The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet) was a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through th ...

. For his planning and coordination of the Striking Group in action against the Japanese he was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit. After the war, he commanded the

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...

. He then reported to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission for duty as commander of the commission's task group during the "

Operation Sandstone Operation Sandstone was a series of nuclear weapon tests in 1948. It was the third series of American tests, following Trinity in 1945 and Crossroads in 1946, and preceding Ranger. Like the Crossroads tests, the Sandstone tests were carried o ...

" atomic bomb tests of 1948. For his contribution to the successful completion of these tests, he was awarded a second Gold Star in lieu of a third Legion of Merit. From 1951 until March 1952 Russell commanded the aircraft carrier as a unit of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. He was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in 1953. On 16 May 1954 he became commander of Carrier Division 17, and in October of that year transferred to command of Carrier Division 5. On 4 March 1955, he assumed the duties of chief of the

. In that position he was awarded the 1956

Collier Trophy The Robert J. Collier Trophy is awarded annually "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been t ...

, along with Mr. C. J. McCarthy of Chance Vought Aircraft, for their work in the development of the

Vought F-8 Crusader The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based Air superiority fighter, air superiority jet aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Vought. It was the ...

supersonic fighter – the outstanding contribution to aviation in that year. From June 1957 Russell served as deputy commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet with the rank of vice admiral before being appointed Vice Chief of Naval Operations on 21 July 1958 with the four-star rank of admiral. He served in that post until 1962, and then as Commander-in-Chief of NATO's

Allied Forces Southern Europe The Joint Force Command Naples (JFC Naples) is a NATO military command based in Lago Patria, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. It was activated on 15 March 2004, after effectively redesigning its predecessor command, Allied Forces Southe ...

(CinCAFSOUTH) before retiring in 1965. He died in

Lakewood, Washington Lakewood is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 63,612 at the 2020 census. It is the second-largest city in the county, behind Tacoma, and is a suburban bedroom community. Lakewood is adjacent to Joint Base ...

on April 14, 1996 at the age of 93.

Decorations

Apart from his US military medals Russell was awarded French

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

; Greece's

Order of George I The Royal Order of George I () is a Greek Order (distinction), order instituted by King Constantine I of Greece, Constantine I in 1915. Since the monarchy's abolition in 1973, it has been considered a dynastic order of the former Greek royal fami ...

; Italy's

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

; Peru's Great Cross of Naval Merit; and Brazil's Order of Naval Merit.

References

External links

Mention of his death in the US Congressional Record
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, James Sargent United States Navy admirals 1903 births 1996 deaths United States Navy pilots of World War II Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Order of George I Recipients of the Order of Naval Merit (Brazil) American recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic People from Lakewood, Washington Recipients of the Air Medal Vice chiefs of Naval Operations Stadium High School alumni