BY JOYCE GODWIN
Herald Democrat
SHERMAN -- He stood outside his father's new Sherman home on Monday alongside his grandfather, ready to be the man of the family. Wearing a camouflage shirt and a Texas Longhorns cap, John Michael Russell II, 20, faced reporters and cameras of all sizes and types representing local and national news agencies. It was less than 24 hours after learning his father, Sgt. John M. Russell was arrested and charged with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault by the U.S. Army. Sgt. Russell is accused of shooting those individuals in a medical clinic Monday at Camp Liberty in Baghdad Iraq.
In Baghdad, Maj. Gen. David Perkins told reporters that Sgt. Russell, a communications specialist assigned to the 54th Engineer Battalion from Bamberg, Germany, was sent to the mental health clinic by his superiors, presumably because of concern over his emotional state. He was on his third tour in Iraq and also served in Serbia through the last half of 1996 and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last half of 1998.
"My father is a great guy, loving and caring, and for him to do something like this just shocks me," Russell's son said. "I just want people to know that that's not the type of guy he is to do something like that. He had to have had no mind control and something had to have been set off that was so bad for him to do something close to that nature."
The young Russell said he's always worried about a colonel knocking on his door bringing information of his dad being killed in the line of duty in Iraq, but this news was the furthest from anything he expected. "It's horrible," he said.
"This is just so surreal right now," he added as he looked around the front yard at the numbers of news agency representatives and television trucks rolling down the quiet street.
Wilburn Russell, Sgt. Russell's father, was also standing in front of the home talking with reporters, even though neighbors frequently shouted at him that he should be sitting. There was an empty chair in the driveway for the elder Russell, but the 73-year-old never used it.
Of his grandson, Wilburn Russell said, "He's taking it hard. He was really upset. He didn't want me talking to the media until I told him that giving our version of circumstances might clear up some of the innuendos. Everybody's thinking he was taking a stress test because he had problems. That's not true."
The family has been able to remain close to Sgt. Russell through e-mails and frequent telephone calls. The last of those calls was about two weeks ago, Wilburn Russell said. "He e-mailed his mother for Mother's Day and sent her flowers," Russell said.
When asked how the Sherman family learned of Sgt. Russell's trouble, Wilburn Russell told how an Army officer and chaplain visited Sgt. Russell's wife, who lives in Bamberg, Germany where Russell has been stationed for close to 10 years. "They told her 'John went crazy and killed five soldiers,'" He said. Then he explained that Mrs. Russell called them on Monday morning.
But Wilburn Russell believes there may be more to the story. "He e-mailed his wife about the sixth of this month and told her 'I have been threatened by two officers.'" Wilburn Russell said. "When you get crosswise with officers, you're in trouble. He didn't say why. He was due out of Iraq in six weeks and they scheduled him for this stress test."
Russell described what he believes may have happened. "Evidently the officers he got crosswise with phoned and said 'hey ... got a guy coming through there I'm scheduling; drive him out, get rid of him, break him.' They can do that. These guys, they see carnage (all the time). John went out and picked up radios out of blowed up cars, and this kind of stuff, and he lost some friends. He didn't ever talk about these kinds of things. He escorted the officers around with his radio and so he saw all their blemishes and, they broke him. They probably told him, 'you don't deserve those stripes ... we're going to get rid of you. It only takes one of us to sign a piece of paper and you're history.' "
Wilburn Russell went on to say, "If the Army turns against him, he doesn't have a life as far as he is concerned. He's ruined. He's done for. He's going to lose his house and probably his wife. He's going to lose everything."
John Michael Russell II explained how his father had already laid the plans for his retirement in a little more than five years. "This is his house," referring to the home where the family was grieving. "He hasn't even been able to see it. He came and they did all the paperwork and he left and then they built it and we moved in. He was coming this July for the first time to see it." The younger Russell explained that his dad was planning to have the house note paid by the time of his retirement so he wouldn't have to worry about making the payments.
"So for him to do something like this (the shooting), you know... it...it wasn't him," John Michael Russell II said.
Wilburn Russell said his son is not a drinker, doesn't go to bars and didn't really buddy with the guys. "He had all kinds of awards for winning (at) hearts and chess. He liked intellectual pursuits and practiced Tai Chi for his health," he added. "He's 6-4. I guess John couldn't handle it and he decided this is worth dying for. They are killing me so I'm going to kill them, you can quote me on that... He didn't have the maturity to be able to talk these problems out and go and ask for help."
It was clearly difficult for Wilburn Russell to talk about his son and the family's experiences. Many times he had to stop and choke back emotions. "You can't undo it but it sure caused a lot of misery," he said. "There are just hundreds of people involved that are just heart sick and sad and I wouldn't know what to say to them. I wouldn't want to intrude, I just want to know..." He trailed off.
When asked about the condition of family members, Wilburn Russell said they are struggling. He said he is helping his wife cope by talking to her, holding her and they cry together. "The family is not doing good at all... it's, it's terrible," John Michael Russell II said through a pained expression on his face.
"It never dawned on me he wouldn't be able to handle himself in these situations. They trained him to kill and that's the only thing that came to his mind. It can't be undone. You can't say enough to solve it. We thought he was well grounded ... thought he had his feet on the ground," Wilburn Russell said, breaking down in tears. "I'm sick. I'm so sorry, not just for my son, but for everyone involved. ... We all are devastated. We didn't expect this. We would expect that he would be killed (in action in Iraq), but not that he'd do something like this."
Sgt. Russell was born in Oklahoma City. His family moved to Plano in 1972 as Wilburn Russell worked in the defense industry. The family moved to a home near Luella, southeast of Sherman, with Sgt. Russell and his three sisters (who all still live in this area, as well as his ex-wife). Sgt. Russell graduated from Tom Bean High School.
Sgt. Russell entered the Army National Guard in 1988 and served in the Guard until 1994, when he became an active duty soldier, the record shows.
Russell received several medals and commendations, which a military official described as typical for Russell's rank and time in the military. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak on the record.
The Associated Press, Assistant City Editors Kathy Williams and Jerrie Whitely, and City Editor Gary Carter contributed to this report.