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ROADRUNNER
REMEMBRANCE
The names
posted below commemorate Roadrunners who have made their final flight since
our October 2001 reunion. Other deceased Roadrunners can be added to this
commemorative upon request.
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Obituaries are posted at the individual links above.
Richard
"Dick" Roussell
4-3-2008
Last
night the aviation community lost another of its icons with the loss of
Richard "Dick" Roussell, age 77. Dick was proud of his Louisiana
heritage where he was born July 23rd, 1930. He was equally proud of his alma
mater, LSU where he attended US Army ROTC for the first two years and opted to
enroll in US Air Force ROTC for junior and senior years. As a commissioned
officer in the United States Air Force, Dick flew 309 F-100 combat missions in
Vietnam for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air
Medal with 10 Oak Leaf Clusters. Dick was one of the elite selected by the Air
Force to participate in the CIA A-12 Project OXCART at Area 51 where Dick flew
the F-101 Voodoo to provide chase for the Mach 3+ A-12. After his tour of duty
at Area 51 Dick was chief of the Operational Test and Evaluation Division of
the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing at Nellis AFB. Dick held the rating of Command
Pilot with over 4,000 hours of logged flying time. More about the exceptional
life of Dick is posted on his web page: Roussell's
Web Page. Dick was a personal friend of many of us and a regular in
our Roadrunners Internationale association activities. Dick was one of the
original founders of Roadrunners Internationale and was an invaluable asset to
the association as it developed its website and proceeded with its mission of
recording the legacy of Project Oxcart participants. Dick served the
association in many ways and remained an active advisor up to his sudden
passing. Dick remained a business man in Las Vegas throughout his life after
retiring from the Air Force. We can take comfort that Dick is now happily
enjoying a plate of Gold Band half-shell oysters and platter of seafood for
which he held a passion. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family who have
suffered a great loss.
Memorial services in remembrance of Dick will be scheduled at a later date.
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