Russell Redding Obituary

My name is Peter Shay and I am from New York. Rusty and I have been friends for over fifty years. This seems like a long time but since we stayed in contact for much of that period of time it all seems so recent to me. We began a friendship during our military assignments in Vietnam, during which time we were assigned to the same officers barracks in a river town, Nha Be, just outside of Saigon. Rusty was a US Navy SEAL while I was a Navy helicopter pilot.
Rusty, as a US Navy SEAL, would go out on patrols with a platoon size group of men wading in mud under the thick canopy of the jungle, while I, piloting a HUEY helicopter with the Navy squadron nicknamed the Seawolves, would either be airborne or on standby, ready to assist if necessary. Both of our assignments were somewhat risky, but with the SEALS always exposed to unknown dangers. My squadron´s mission was to support them if they needed help, which was not an uncommon experience.
We got to know each other over a period of several months, prior to him being reassigned to a different base. We often chatted about sports, investments, some politics, and the Civil War and Reconstruction, which I was rather ignorant about. Rusty originates form rural Georgia....he is a real southerner while I was a somewhat middle of the road northerner from Brooklyn. I learned a lot from him. We also talked about local things such as the war that neither of us were too thrilled to be in.
Sometime after we returned to the states we reconnected. When I discovered that Rusty got married to Rebecca and sometime thereafter had twin boys, I asked my father, who was in the infants wear business, if he would send some baby clothes to the Reddings in order to outfit the newborns. I doubt whether Alan and David remember, but Rebecca probably does. Over the years we usually spoke at least three or four times a year, always sharing our life´s experiences.
We remained good friends for more than fifty years, with the Reddings visiting New York City and me visiting Atlanta. Then two years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Rusty and Rebecca at their home outside Atlanta in May of 2022 where we spent some time together as Rusty was beginning to show some signs of illness.
Considering that Rusty was one of my best friends, I share my sense of grief with the family, and express my sympathy for his loss. He was always a great family man, and a man who also displayed modesty and humility towards others. May he Rest in Peace.




My name is Peter Shay and I am from New York. Rusty and I have been friends for over fifty years. This seems like a long time but since we stayed in contact for much of that period of time it all seems so recent to me. We began a friendship during our military assignments in Vietnam, during which time we were assigned to the same officers barracks in a river town, Nha Be, just outside of Saigon. Rusty was a US Navy SEAL while I was a Navy helicopter pilot.
Rusty, as a US Navy SEAL, would go out on patrols with a platoon size group of men wading in mud under the thick canopy of the jungle, while I, piloting a HUEY helicopter with the Navy squadron nicknamed the Seawolves, would either be airborne or on standby, ready to assist if necessary. Both of our assignments were somewhat risky, but with the SEALS always exposed to unknown dangers. My squadron´s mission was to support them if they needed help, which was not an uncommon experience.
We got to know each other over a period of several months, prior to him being reassigned to a different base. We often chatted about sports, investments, some politics, and the Civil War and Reconstruction, which I was rather ignorant about. Rusty originates form rural Georgia....he is a real southerner while I was a somewhat middle of the road northerner from Brooklyn. I learned a lot from him. We also talked about local things such as the war that neither of us were too thrilled to be in.
Sometime after we returned to the states we reconnected. When I discovered that Rusty got married to Rebecca and sometime thereafter had twin boys, I asked my father, who was in the infants wear business, if he would send some baby clothes to the Reddings in order to outfit the newborns. I doubt whether Alan and David remember, but Rebecca probably does. Over the years we usually spoke at least three or four times a year, always sharing our life´s experiences.
We remained good friends for more than fifty years, with the Reddings visiting New York City and me visiting Atlanta. Then two years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Rusty and Rebecca at their home outside Atlanta in May of 2022 where we spent some time together as Rusty was beginning to show some signs of illness.
Considering that Rusty was one of my best friends, I share my sense of grief with the family, and express my sympathy for his loss. He was always a great family man, and a man who also displayed modesty and humility towards others. May he Rest in Peace.

My name is Peter Shay and I am from New York. Rusty and I began a friendship during our military assignment in Vietnam. During our tour we were assigned to the same officers´ barracks in a river town, Nha Be, just outside of Saigon. Rusty was a US Navy SEAL while I was a Navy helicopter pilot.
Rusty would go out on patrols with a platoon of SEALS wading in mud under the thick canopy of the jungle, while I, flying a HUEY gunship with the Navy squadron nicknamed the Seawolves, would either be airborne or on standby, ready to assist if necessary. Both of our assignments were somewhat risky, but with the SEALS always exposed to unknown dangers.
There were occasions during which the SEALs got involved in firefights or less frequently, ambushes that would catch the SEALS off guard. We would then fly our gunships off a small helipad to assist in order to ensure that the SEALS made it safely back to base.
We got to know each other over a period of several months, prior to him being reassigned to a different base. We often chatted about sports, investments, some politics, and the Civil War and Reconstruction, which I might say, I was rather ignorant about. Rusty originates form rural Georgia....he is a real southerner while I was a somewhat middle of the road northerner from Brooklyn. I learned a lot from him. We also talked about local things such as the war that we weren´t too thrilled to be in.
Sometime after we returned to the states we reconnected and stayed in touch. When I discovered that he got married to Rebecca and sometime thereafter had twin boys, I asked my father, who was in the infants wear business, if he would send some baby clothes to the Reddings in order to outfit the new-borns. I doubt whether Alan and David remember, but Rebecca probably does. Over the years we usually spoke at least three or four times a year, always sharing our life´s experiences.
We remained good friends for more than fifty years, with the Reddings visiting New York City and me visiting Atlanta. Then two years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Rusty and Rebecca at their home outside Atlanta in May of 2022 where we spent some time together as Rusty was beginning to show some signs of illness.
Considering that Rusty was one of my best friends, I share my sense of grief with the family, and express my sympathy for his loss. He was always a great family man, and a man who also displayed modesty and humility towards others. May he rest in peace.

A great guy and a great frogman!