Interview, Arthur Russell, USMC

Arthur Russell (b. 1954) was born in Rochester, NY, into a family with a military background. His father was an Army Ranger during World War II and his uncle and younger brother both served in the United States Marine Corps. Russell graduated from Spencerport High School and after working a few odd jobs, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1974. After basic training at Paris Island, South Carolina, Russell was trained in small arms repair at Aberdeen, Maryland, and then worked in the Armory and in Fire Directions Control. When South Vietnam fell in 1975, Russell was at Camp Lejeune, in North Carolina. He began a tour of duty at Guantanamo Bay in 1977 and traveled among the Caribbean nations. When his tour ended in 1978, Russell chose not to re-enlist. He went to work at Kodak and later worked as an electrical test technician for ITT Geospatial Systems. He also became a member of the local Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 20.

In this interview, Russell shares his experiences in basic training and serving at Guantanamo Bay, and his thoughts on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Russell talks about his arms training and learning to drive trucks and operate a howitzer. He discusses the C-rations that soldiers had to eat and shares a story about intercepting a group of Haitian émigrés while serving at Guantanamo Bay. Russell says he understands that the United States often has to go to war, but he hopes the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan will not turn into long-term commitments like Vietnam.