There, on the top right, is my grandmother’s cousin James with the 14th Air Force’s (Flying Tigers) Chinese-American Composite Wing - 5th fighter group. Apparently, he flew 90 combat missions during WWII. Cousin James is also known as retired Lieutenant Colonel James A. Russell Jr, and I had no idea. He’s 91 now, coming up on 92.
This is him right after basic training. He would have been 20 or 21.
The family lore is that he escaped from a POW camp, although I’ve never been able to determine whether this would have happened during WWII, or if he also served in Korea. I do know that seventy years later, I have never seen this man sit anywhere other than with his back against a wall. God bless him, and thank him for his service.
