Hometown: New Market, TN
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps
Unit: Company B, 1st Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Amphibious Force
Military Honors: Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: March 29, 1968 - KIA in Quảng Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam
Age: 21
Conflict: Vietnam War, 1959-1975

“Jimmy” Russell was born to parents James II and Hazel (McGeorge) Russell on March 30, 1947, in the small town of New Market, Tennessee. New Market is at the southern tip of the Cherokee Reservoir, a half-hour drive northeast of Knoxville. His father, James II, served as a Private First Class in the Army Air Forces during World War II (1939-1945).

At the height of the Vietnam War, Jimmy Russell was sent to Vietnam and assigned as a rifleman with Company B, 1st Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Amphibious Force.

In January 1968, North Vietnamese and communist Viet Cong forces launched an attack against American and South Vietnamese military targets in South Vietnam. The operation was known as the “Tet Offensive,” because it was launched during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year (“Tết”) holiday.

Despite successfully repelling the assault, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces suffered heavy losses. With television images of the conflict being broadcast to American homes, the shocking reality of the Tet Offensive played a large role in ending public support for the war effort.

In early May of 1968, communist forces planned another offensive that became known as “Mini-Tet.” American and South Vietnamese military strategists launched operations to prevent enemy forces from assembling to stage attacks.

On May 27, 1968, Russell’s 1st Battalion was mobilized as part of Operation Allen Brook. The U.S. Marine Corps compiled a report entitled U.S. Marines In Vietnam: The Defining Year 1968. Its authors described the challenges faced by Cpl. Russell’s 26th Marine Regiment:

The regiment’s orders called for an ongoing “search and clear” operation, a euphemism for the tedious process of methodically searching an area for enemy personnel, facilities, supplies, and equipment. When carried out to the degree of thoroughness which provided a measure of success, the procedure was slow and sometimes ponderous. The extreme heat encountered during Operation Allen Brook, combined with terrain that included man-high elephant grass, as well as a hostile, uncooperative local population, and frequent encounters with boobytraps and mines, made the “search and clear” mission far more challenging than its name implied.

On May 29, 1968, Cpl. James “Jimmy” A. Russell III was killed by small arms fire in Quảng Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam. Lost at age 21, he was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart Medal.

CPL Russell was laid to rest in his hometown and is honored at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., where his name is inscribed on Panel 63W, Line 12. His name is also inscribed at the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in Knoxville (Pillar XXIII, Top Panel).

Sources
Vietnam Veterans Memorial—The Wall of Faces: James A Russell III
East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association: James A. Russell III
Vietnam Veterans Memorial—Virtual Wall: James A. Russell, III
Honor States: James A. Russell III
Texas Tech University—The Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive: Command Chronology [1st Bn 26th Marines]
United States Marine Corps University: U.S. Marines In Vietnam: The Defining Year 1968
Burial Site: Find a Grave