John S. Russell

The Navy Cross is awarded to Chief Machinist’s Mate John S. Russell, U.S. Navy, for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty on the occasion of a fire on the U.S.S. Cleveland, at sea, on February 16, 1918. Chief Machinist’s Mate Russell, with others, descended into a compartment over the aftermagazine filled with smoke and suffocating fumes and successfully extinguished the fire after forty-five minutes work.