World War II Honoree
World War II Veteran
Russell Francis Graham
Branch of Service
U.S. Navy
Hometown
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Honored By
Lena Graham & Family
FIREMAN FIRST CLASS. SERVED FROM JANUARY 17, 1944 - APRIL 22, 1946. BASIC TRAINING AT SAMSON, NEW YORK. LATER SERVED AT US NAVY'S FACILITY AT PIER 91 IN NEW YORK. ASSIGNED TO THE LIBERTY SHIP USS P.H. BURNETT (IX-104) FOR TRANSPORT TO THE PACIFIC THEATERS OF OPERATION; PANAMA CANAL, ISLANDS OF PELELIU AND TULAGI. ALSO SERVED ABOARD THE USS STOCKTON (DD-646) AND PARTICIPATED IN THE BATTLES FOR THE ISLANDS OF IWO JIMA AND OKINAWA. THE JAPANESE SUBMARINE I-8 WAS SUNK OFF OF OKINAWA ON MARCH 31, 1945 IN AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE USS STOCKTON. AWARDED THE COMBAT ACTION RIBBON, AMERICAN CAMPAIGN MEDAL, ASIATIC-PACIFIC THEATER CAMPAIGN MEDAL WITH 4 BRONZE SERVICE STARS, WWII VICTORY MEDAL, NAVY OCCUPATION MEDAL WITH JAPAN CLASP, NEW YORK STATE MEDAL FOR MERIT WITH 2 SILVER SHIELDS AND HONORABLE DISCHARGE LAPEL PIN.