Ernest Russell was born 16 April 1923 in Jackson, MS, the first son of Ernest and Mildred Green Russell. His family lived in many towns in Mississippi and Louisiana, mainly Hattiesburg and Bay St. Louis, MS.



Ernie signed up for the US Army Air Corps following the Japanese bombing of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor and the resulting US declaration of war on Japan. Ernie was accepted into the Army Air Corps Cadet Flying Training Program becoming a Private in the US Army.



Pre Flight, Primary, Basic and Advanced training took place at various locations in the southern US including Maxwell Field, Carlstrom Field, Marianna Army Air Force Base and Dalemabry Air Force Base where Ernie learnt to fly the Stearman PT-17, Vultee BT-13s and 15s, the North American AT-6 ( or "Harvard" ) and the Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt ( or "Jug" ).



Ernie's first flight was in 1942 in a Stearman PT-17,his first solo flight on 21 April 1942, and he was certified a pilot, awarded his silver wings and commissioned a second lieutenant in the US Army Air Corps Reserve on 25 March 1943.



Ernie was posted to England in August 1943 arriving firstly at Atcham RTU (Replacement Training Unit) near Shrewsbury and subsequently,in early September, to the 84th Fighter Squadron based at Duxford, or as it was then known - Station 357 of the 78th Fighter Group in 8th Fighter Command.



The 84th, along with sister Fighter Squadrons the 82nd and 83rd were equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts, and the 84th FS carried the same WZ markings as early RAF Spitfires flying from Duxford during the Battle of Britain. Ernie was assigned P-47 WZ-C, initially WZ-C P47C2RE then, from April 1944, the brand new WZ-C P47D22RE, flown until the end of his tour on 11 May 1944.



Missions flown from Station 357 were principally the provision of a fighter escort to bombers of 8th Bomber Command. Ernie's first combat mission however, flown on 9 October 1943, was a fighter sweep into northern France.



He first fired his guns in anger flying as "Blue 2" on 1 December 1943 at an ME 109 over Aachen in Germany. In total Ernie flew 64 combat missions from Duxford completing his 200 hour tour in fighters in the 8th Air Force.



After WWII Ernie held a number of flight instructor positions at several air bases in the US, eventually being released from the USAAF at the end of 1946 at the grand old age of 23!



He then returned to the Mississippi State University and the University of Tennessee to complete his formal education taking a Batchelor's degree, a Masters, a Doctor of Philosophy and finally becoming a Professor Emeritus of Geology.



Dr Ernest Russell, Lieutenant Colonel retired United States Air Force, died at home in the US on Sunday October 6 2013, survived by three sons, ten grandchildren and many family, friends and professional colleagues. His rich life is partially recounted in his book "A Mississippi Fighter Pilot in WWII" ( Trafford Publishing, 23 August 2007 ), which covers the period of his life from Pearl Harbor until the end of WWII and which includes, at Chapter 10, a vivid account of "A day in the life of a fighter pilot at Duxford, England in WWII December 1943".