Second Lieutenant (2LT) James Frank Russell (Service No O-812315) was born on 29 May 1924 in Canton, NC. His parents were Robert Alexander Russell and Edith Evelyn Russell (nee Phillips), both of whom were born in North Carolina. James’ siblings were Robert, Billie, who died in 1922, Evelyn, and Betty.

At the age of only 17, James entered the University of North Carolina (UNC) from Lee Edwards Senior High School in Asheville, NC, where he was active in debate. He was enrolled at UNC from 1940 to 1942. When James registered for the draft on 30 Jun 1942 in Asheville, he was living there with his family and working on his father’s farm. He entered the U.S. Army Air Forces (AAF) in June 1942 as an aviation cadet. He received his basic training at Cochran Army Air Base in Macon, and his primary training at Carlstrom Field in Arcadia, FL. In August 1943, James was sent to Stuttgart Army Airfield in Stuttgart, AR, to complete his flight training. That was where James graduated on 30 Sep 1943, and on 1 Oct 1943, he received his pilot's wings and his commission as a second lieutenant, at age 19. He reported to the AAF Replacement Center in Salt Lake City, UT, on 13 Oct 1943 for assignment to active duty.

On April 8, 1944, 2LT Russell and his brother, 2LT Robert Phillips Russell were on the same B-24 bomber for the 67th Bombardment Squadron of the 44th Bomb Group, known as The Flying Eightballs, which was then under VIII Bomber Command operations. They had previously flown about 10 missions together. James was the co-pilot and Robert was the navigator. They were members of the same bombing crew at the insistence of Robert, who was assigned to combat duty after about 8 months of foreign service with Air Transport Command in the China-Burma-India theater. Upon his return to the US, Robert was assigned duty ferrying planes to the Pacific War theater; however, he requested combat duty instead, with the intention of joining his brother’s crew. Around February 1944, Robert succeeded in being assigned to James’ crew in Topeka, KS, and the crew left almost immediately for England.

The brothers were keenly aware of the uniqueness of their situation from the perspective of the potential sorrow to their family. Robert wrote to a friend: “Perhaps it is unfair to our folks, but I honestly believe our own overall chances of survival are better. I don’t believe there are many crews better than we are. If anything should happen to me – it would be about 10 years from the time I came over here with little understanding of the issues involved, but with the hope that the aggressors should be checked without another war. If that was idealism, I want you to remember that I held the faith in it to the end.” Robert was referring to a trip he made to Geneva, Switzerland, as a delegate to a world student peace conference from UNC. “All that I have yet observed of men makes me believe that we can achieve peace and good will on earth; and because of that belief, I’m glad to participate in this present fight. And this is the theater I prefer to serve in.”

Their primary target for this mission, Brunswick, as well as their secondary, were obscured by a successful smoke screen, so a target of opportunity, Langenhagen Airdrome in Hanover, Germany, was bombed instead. Enemy aircraft attacks were numerous and severe, with the 44th Bomb Group's gunners claiming 12 destroyed, 6 probables, and 1 damaged. But the Group's formation was subjected to concentrated attacks and lost a total of eleven aircraft, while just a total of nineteen other B-24s were lost by all other Groups combined. This was the worst loss of the war for one mission by the Flying Eightballs.

The Russells' aircraft was one of those lost, and it was probably one of the first of the Group's aircraft to go down. The Misssing Air Crew Report (MACR) states that in the vicinity of Langenhagen Airdrome, at 1410 hours, the pilot, 2LT Mayes, gave orders to bail out on the interphone. The plane, having been hit by enemy aircraft, was on fire and in a spin. SGT Archie M. Thomas was the first to bail out, and probably the last, given how close to the ground he was when his chute opened. The plane exploded when it hit the ground.

For the first edition of the Roll of Honor, SGT Thomas wrote that there wasn't much that he could add to the data in the MACR. "We were hit by enemy aircraft fire on their initial pass through our formation. Our plane caught fire and went into a spin immediately, probably indicating that our pilots were injured, too. We had been flying in the ‘tail end Charlie’ position. I am certain that the other men in the rear of our ship with me were KIA – William J. Burk, Roger J. Newton, and Donald J Logan.”

"The craft went down in a tight spin, on fire, and I was the first one to leave from the rear area. My chute opened probably no more than 150 feet from the ground. It is also safe to say that there were no other survivors. But I did see that there was another plane that went down at the same time that we did. . . . I spent my POW time in Stalag 17B until the war was over."

SGT Thomas made a personal visit to the family of the Russell brothers in Asheville in 1945, and he told them of the affection shown by the brothers for each other.

The Russell brothers' mother, Edith Phillips Russell, was named State Mother of the Year in North Carolina in 1946 for her sacrifice and for her work in the Asheville community.

The remains of 2LT Russell were returned to the United States under The Return of the World War II Dead Program that was initiated in 1946. Under this Program, the US Government launched a global initiative to locate aircraft crash sites, comb former battlefields for isolated graves, and disinter temporary military cemeteries around the globe. The U.S. Army created the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) to perform this task. Once remains had been recovered, they were transported to Central Identification Laboratories (CIL), where technicians confirmed or established identifications.

2LT Russell was reinterred in Arlington National Cemetery on 29 Aug 1949 in a joint grave with his brother and the 6 others who with perished him. His parents and their two sisters attended the ceremony.

Sources:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15112722/james-frank-russell

https://www.ancestry.com/search/?name=James+Frank+_Russell+&event=_asheville-buncombe-north+carolina-usa_20125&birth=1924&death=1944_germany_3253&count=50&gender=m&name_x=1_1&sibling=Robert_Russell+

https://www.newspapers.com/image/199748334/?terms=James%20F%20Russell&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/196239868/?terms=James%20F%20Russell&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/199840907/?terms=James%20F%20Russell&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-mrs-robert-russ/82112684/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/199032100/?fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjE5OTAzMjEwMCwiaWF0IjoxNjgyMjY2NTYwLCJleHAiOjE2ODIzNTI5NjB9.Ax3RMszfsGKpQUsfjPfbxNT7_cnYt3CZdRPuzCrcdk0

https://www.newspapers.com/image/199032068/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/199032100/

https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaFamWebWWII#:~:text=Following%20the%20war%2C%20the%20United,military%20cemeteries%20around%20the%20globe

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2LT James Frank Russell