Russell Alan O'Day

Russell Alan O'Day, died peacefully on February 15, 2015 at the Cape Coral, Fl Hope Hospice after a short illness. For the past year, he had been residing at Juniper Village Assisted Living Facility in Cape Coral.

Russell was born July 14, 1930 in Somerville, MA. He joined the Navy in 1947 where he was trained as a hospital corpsman and served until retirement in 1967. He was deployed to Korea in 1950. His unit received a Presidential Citation for their actions at the battle of the Chosin Reservoir in November and December of 1950. "Doc" as he was affectionately known, completed a World Cruise in 1955 on the USS Forrest Royal. He also served aboard the USS Lexington and USS Randolph. Russell was aboard the Randolph in 1961 when Gus Grissom was rescued after splashdown from his Mercury capsule, The Liberty Bell 7. After he retired from the Navy in 1967, Russell worked for and retired from Brinks Security in Atlanta, Ga. He lived in Georgia until moving to Cape Coral in 2003.

He remained active in the Chosin Few, Corpsman United and Korean War Veteran Foundation organizations, attending many reunions over the years. He was an active member of the Southwest Florida Military Museum spending many hours meeting with other veterans and swapping "sea stories".

He made many friends while living here and will be missed by all including Gail and Jim Connelly, and Gina Bauer.

He is survived by a daughter, Ellen Brown of Newnan, Georgia, two grandsons, Matthew Russell and Christopher, five great grandchildren, and a sister, Barbara Newman and her family, in Austin, Texas.

His ashes will be placed in the National Cemetery in Canton, Georgia. Donations in his honor may be made to the Southwest Florida Military Museum in Cape Coral.

Mullins Memorial Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Cape Coral, is entrusted with final care.