More detail on this person: Helicopter crash after leaving the Army. Flew OH-6 in Vietnam. John Andrew Russell John Russell was a 1967 graduate of Burbank High School, Burbank, California. In our yearbook next to John's senior picture it says he was active in the following while at BHS: Coll. Prep, Basketball Var 11 grade; JV 10 grade; A Cappella 12 grade; Marching Band 12 grade; Orchestra 11 grade. Plans on going to college and flying. John Russell died in 1982 in Alaska while piloting a helicopter. His helicopter went down during a "white out", and John died in the crash landing. John was 32. A close friend and fellow pilot found the wreckage after the crash, and contacted John's parents in Kenya. They traveled from Kenya to Alaska and were able to see his body after they arrived, which was possible due to the circumstances of the crash. John was cremated in Alaska and then his parents took his cremains back to Kenya and scattered them over Mt. Kenya. John Russell grew up and lived in Ethiopia and Kenya, except for his years at BHS. His parents were Presbyterian missionaries. During the time at BHS his parents were on furlough from Africa, and his dad was an associate minister at Glendale Presbyterian Church. After that they returned to Kenya for many more years until retirement, which included when John died in 1982.
This information was last updated 05/06/2020
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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