Carl M. Russell

Dr. Carl M. Russell, 85, of Salem, passed away on Monday, August 18, 2008. He had been a member of the Radiology Department of the Lewis Gale Clinic for 20 years prior to his retirement in 1986. He was certified by the American Board of Radiology, a member of the American College of Radiology, and a graduate of the Yale School of Medicine. When he joined the Lewis-Gale Clinic in 1966, Dr. Russell had just retired from the United States. Air Force Medical Corps in the grade of Lieutenant Colonel, after 20 years of military service which had taken him to military bases in South Korea, Japan, and the Alaskan Territory, along with multiple stateside bases.
A Birmingham doctor was the central figure in a heroic operation off the coast of Korea. Capt. Carl M. Russell, an Air Force surgeon, was lowered from a helicopter to the deck of an LST (landing, ship, tank) to treat a critically injured man. Maj. Gen. Earle E. Patridge, Fifth Air Force commander, said the LST radioed that an injured passenger needed attention before the craft could reach port. A Third Air Rescue Squadron helicopter was loaded with plasma, medical supplies, and equipment at a forward air base. At a Southern Korea base it picked up Capt. Russell. Capt. Richard B. McVay, operations officer of the rescue unit, piloted the helicopter. Some 20 miles off the Korean Coast, McVay held the helicopter over the deck while Capt. Russell G. Winegar, another rescue pilot, lowered Russell to the deck. The plasma and other medical supplies were then lowered.
He was awarded The Soldier's Medal for that rescue mission on the coast of South Korea, which involved him being lowered by cable from a helicopter hovering ahead to the deck of an LST. He was a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College, and was Chief of Radiology at the USAF Hospital at Travis Air Force Base, California over the last seven years of his military service.
Dr. Russell was predeceased by his parents, Jerry and Lee Russell, of Bridgeport, Ala.; sister and husband, Margaret (Dixie) and Harry Balston ,of Kansas City, Mo., and Roanoke, Va.; sister and husband, Scott and Eugene Bryant, of Birmingham, Ala.; sister and husband, Mildred and Charles Brown, of South Pittsburg, Tenn.; brother and wife, James and Melba Russell, of Chattanooga, Tenn.; and his wife, Virginia Nielson Russell, of Roanoke, Va., and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dr. Russell was survived by his daughter, Debra Russell, of Tucker, Ga.; his beloved, Nancy Russell Butcher; nephew and wife, Roger and Laurie Russell, and children, Tad and Sarah, of Duluth, Ga.; and nephew and wife, Russell and Martha Bryant, and children, Jo Ann and Scott, of Lancaster, S.C.; and brother-in-law and wife, Grant and Louise Nielson, and their children, of Delta, Utah.
A memorial service will be conducted 2 p.m. on Friday, August 22, 2008, at the chapel of John M. Oakey and Son, Salem with the Reverend Tupper Garden officiating. The family will receive friends on Thursday evening, August 21, 2008, from 6 to 8 p.m. at John M. Oakey and Son Funeral Home. Flowers are welcomed however memorial contributions may be made to the Salem Animal Shelter, 1301 Indian Street, Salem, Va. 24153 or to the St. Joseph Indian School, 1301 N. Main Street, Chamberlain, S.D. 57325. The Russell family is being served by John M. Oakey and Son, Salem, Va., 540-389-5441.