This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Shane Laemmel, MR3
to remember
Russell, Allard (Slim), CAPT USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Williston, ND
Last Address Sarasota, FL
Date of Passing May 17, 2009
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Probably the thing he is most proud of since retiring from the Navy is his election to the Golden Eagles. This is an exclusive organization of retired Navy and Marine aviators. All are at least 60 years old with impeccable aviation pedigrees. There are only 200 of these rare birds alive. Each has to be selected by his peers to be a member, and that only happens when one of the clan passes on.
Other Memories Russell is shot down in his F4U5N Corsair night fighter over Wonsan Harbor during the Korean War.
Capt. Russell ditched his F4U5N Corsair in Wonsan Harbor in N Korea
?They were waiting for us when we arrived,? ?Slim? Russell recalled. ?It was March 31, 1952, and I was leading a squadron of night fighters over a big enemy transportation complex at Yangdok, North Korea, when the whole mountainside exploded with anti-aircraft fire.
?My plane was riddled with ack-ack (anti-aircraft artillery). Part of the plexiglass canopy in my F4U5N (Corsair) blew up in my face.?
His squadron had flown off the carrier USS Philippine Sea 100 miles off Wonsan Harbor in the Sea of Japan around midnight on a raid to knock out the North Korean rail center. The area was crawling with scores of enemy supply trucks. Yangdok was a juicy target for carrier pilots.
?We were to attack with napalm, rockets and 20 mm (shells),? said Russell, an 84-year-old retired Navy captain now living in Sarasota. ?I was the first one down. When the rest of the guys saw what happened to me, they decided to call off the attack.?
Russell said he was tempted to bail out the moment he was hit by ground fire, but he was flying over enemy territory. He decided to tough it out in his fighter/bomber.
?My engine was hit, but I was able to limp along for another 75 miles. I set her down in Wonsan Harbor. I was floating around in a rubber suit for 45 minutes in 34-degree water when the Brinkley Bass (DD-887), one of our destroyers, picked me up.
?I had a mirror with me when I went down. It was spotted by the Bass? search lights from five miles away. They were able to zero in on me,? Russell said. ?I was lucky to come out of that one alive.?