The Navy and Married Life

Because of his outgoing personality, Russ had quickly developed a good rapport with Winnie's father and mother. Russ often referred to them in letters as "Straw Boss No. 1" and "Straw Boss No. 2." A letter from Winnie's mother about this time refers to being happy having a son-in-law that both she and her husband could love. Winnie's father worked at the time for Metropolitan Life Insurance as a route man; her mother worked for Safeway Stores. Both helped the newlyweds as much as possible, but World War II was to separate the two families.

Russ was assigned to Philadelphia Naval Air Factory from February 1, 2024 to May 10, 1943. He was a student in a six-month course in the operation and testing of H-2 and H-4 catapults, after which he quickly became an instructor. On October 1, 1942, he was appointed Chief Aviation Machinist Mate in charge of catapult field testing. Catapults were the key component of arresting gear for planes on the aircraft carriers. Much of Russ's Philadelphia time was spent traveling the country by train to test catapults against sabotage. While he was away on inspection trips, Winnie was left alone for long periods of time, but took a job doing office work for the Naval Air Factory. Russ was allowed per diem money for expenses, but often saved every penny so that he could buy Winnie a gift each time he returned. In Marshall Fields department store in Chicago he bought a resplendent necklace and a handmade tablecloth from Russia, both of which Winnie still cherishes.

Their next move was to Vancouver, Washington, where Russ served as Naval Liaison Officer for Kaiser Shipyard. Here he was chief-in-charge of testing catapults and arresting gear for the Navy's Aircraft Carrier Program (55-104). Russ realized that each time a catapult broke, a new one would have to be ordered from the factory at a loss of valuable time. The problem, as Russ put it, was "How can a string be too long at one end and too short at the other?" One night in a dream about the Golden Gate Bridge the answer came to him: turnbuckles. In this way, cables for the catapults could easily be repaired. For this ingenuity Russ received a commendation from both the Navy and the Naval Air Factory. He received an additional commendation for improving the electric signaling system for the release of catapults, thereby saving the lives of many sailors.

Because he was frozen to shore duty, Russ was next stationed at the U.S. Naval Barracks, Tacoma, Washington, where he served again as catapult instructor, Master-at-Arms, and was put on the selection list for the rank of lieutenant on November 23, 1944. When the war ended in 1945, Russ finished his enlistment in the Navy and served briefly for a few months as Deputy Fire Chief of Pierce County No. 2 Fire Station. As Russ said, "I soon realized that I had a good title, but poor pay; so I re-enlisted in the U.S. Navy." From November 15, 2023 until June 17, 1946, Russ served in a number of different capacities for the Navy, culminating in his appointment as Island Fire Chief of Guam, and Fire Marshal of the Marianas Islands from June 17, 2024 until March 26, 1948.

For not quite two years Russ and Winnie lived on Guam in a Quonset hut, making a home away from home and developing lifetime relationships. After the Japanese surrender, Russ came to be stationed in Guam because there were too many Chiefs with nothing to do on the West Coast. For about five weeks just prior to shipping to Guam, Russ was stationed at the San Diego Naval Base and was free on weekends. Each weekend Winnie would make the grueling twelve-hour drive from San Francisco, leaving at 6:00 in the evening and arriving at 6:00 the next morning, when she'd be greeted with Russ's hugs and kisses. She traveled with Pat, their German Shepherd. At 6:00 p.m. on Sunday she would leave, arriving home just in time to shower and report to work at Safeway.

When Russ did arrive on Guam in June of 1946, he found hundreds of enlisted men living in bare Quonset huts with nothing to do. Never one to sit around with nothing to do, Russ one day went to the local fire chief, Commander Peterson, and asked if he needed help. After the third day of talking to Russ, Peterson got a call to put out a fire at a large cargo dump. Peterson told Russ to take one end and he would take the other to put the fire out. When they were finished, Peterson came up to Russ, who was sitting on a box, and asked him what he was doing. Russ said he was putting on some new shoes he had found in a salvage box since he had burned the others off his feet. Peterson told Russ to report for duty at the fire house the next morning. When Russ got there, Peterson told Russ he was the new Fire Chief for Guam and the Fire Marshal for the Marianas Islands. The department had 51 fire stations and over 200 pieces of equipment. Shortly after, Peterson returned to the States, leaving Russ in full command.

In the same year, 1946, Russ met and befriended a troubled young seaman by the name of Dan Austin. This was the beginning of a friendship that lasted almost fifty years. In a taped interview, January 13, 1996, Dan recalls how he first met Russ. His base did not have a fire truck, and Russ had the authority to assign one. Dan, who was put in charge of pouring concrete on the island was able to help negotiate a deal. Russ needed a concrete floor poured in his Quonset. A fire truck was soon reassigned to Dan's base and the floor was poured.

When Dan was later assigned to the base laundry, he had a lot of free time, which he soon started spending with Russ and Winnie. Russ, who had started a photography business as a side-line, soon had Winnie and Dan engaged in that enterprise. His photographic skills would serve Russ well in a later career in advertising. Russ specialized in scenery shots which he developed into 8 x 10 and 10 x 12 packets. Many military personnel eagerly bought them because they had limited access to many places on Guam. As Fire Chief, Russ had free access. Dan's photographic help gained him Winnie's home cooking (he always referred to her as "Freddie"), and hours of conversation with Russ about all aspects of life. Dan, who came from a broken home and generally poor living environment, soon looked upon Russ as a substitute father. This relationship stayed the same until Russ's death in 1993.

Over the years, Russ and Dan kept in touch, usually by letter, and on several occasions Russ was instrumental in helping Dan find work during hard times, both in Waco, Texas, and in Florida. In fact, Dan helped Russ pour the foundation of his new Baptist Church in Bellview, Florida. Dan respected Russ so highly that he named his eldest son, who was tragically killed in 1980, Russell Austin. A daughter, Phyllis Austin, also died young. During both of these difficult times, Russ and Winnie provided Dan and his wife Dot with comfort and moral support in Christian brotherhood. Dan says of Russ and Winnie, "They are the best two people I have known in my life."

Wives were not permitted to live on Guam unless the Quonset huts were equipped with floors, electricity and running water. Shortly after arriving on Guam, Russ experienced the devastation of a typhoon; but with characteristic resourcefulness, he scavenged the island for materials to transform his skeletal Quonset into a home for Winnie. Winnie sailed to Guam to be with Russ six months later. Russ even found a Victrola and had their favorite song, "If I Didn't Care" by the Ink Spots, playing as they drove up to the hut. Winnie's photograph album, "Living on Guam," records life on the island visually and with captions. The first picture shows a view of the living room, functional and homey. Russ even made a vanity for the bathroom out of scraps he found throughout the island. Other captions tell the story:

Both Russ and Winnie grew deeply involved in the Memorial Baptist Church in Agana Heights. A Christmas Eve Program bulletin lists Mr. and Mrs. Kingman as sponsors of Christ's Junior Knights performing a pageant, "Why Christ was Born." The Chairman of the Program Committee was Winnie Kingman. The program also lists the names of thirty or more Guamanian children whom Russ and Winnie grew to love and with whom they communicated for many years. The lasting impression Russ and Winnie made on the Guamanian young people is exemplified in the following transcribed letters:

Russ and Winnie both enjoyed their stay on Guam immensely, and hated to leave. After returning to the States, Russ served as Fire Chief and Chief in Charge of Link Trainers for the VR2 Squadron at the Naval Air Station, Alameda, California, from March 26, 1948, to July 26, 1948. With the nest egg Russ had accumulated from his photographic enterprises, he bought a new Oldsmobile from Lansing, Michigan, that he had ordered duty free while stationed in Guam. (Russ always had one eye on the present and one on the future.) They drove from Lansing to Vermont to pick up his mother and his brother, Darwin, who was 12. They then drove back to California where they vacationed at Yosemite. The Kingmans had purchased a house in San Leandro and had just settled down when Russ got orders to report as Fire Chief at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida. In the meantime Winnie had to take care of shipping the furniture--Russ had rented a small house just inside the base--and she had to pick up Pat, the German Shepherd, who was in transit to San Francisco via ship. The person in charge didn't want to release Pat because of some problem with paper work. When Winnie appeared, the dog nearly jumped overboard in her joy. The dog was soon released.

Russ always loved fire fighting, and while in Pensacola he would drive the big new hook and ladder truck while the regular driver was out to lunch. One night there was a fire in the officers' quarters. A colored (vernacular, at the time) maid phoned in the alarm and kept saying it was in MM. Russ rushed to Building MM only to find no fire. By the time he realized the fire was in M, the building was destroyed.

Russ began feeling that it was time for a career change. He had actually decided that he had wanted to be a Baptist minister while stationed on Guam. Myrtle Grove Baptist Church in Pensacola had ordained Russ while he was stationed there, and he served as minister to a small congregation at Millview Baptist Church, just outside Pensacola. Feeling his religious calling, he decided to leave the Navy and attend college at Baylor University, Waco, Texas. He arranged his schedule to take one term of classes at Baylor before being formally discharged from Pensacola on October 18, 1949.

Russ and Winnie moved to Waco where Russ finished a four-year program in three years. In the little spare time that they had, they would go to an occasional movie, and they loved spending Saturday afternoons at the Baylor Bears football games. Though he had the G.I. Bill, Winnie worked as secretary to a lumber company to help with expenses, and Russ worked at Sears and for a furniture store. Winnie quit work at Russ's insistence and took several years of course work, but didn't complete a degree. Both were trying to seize opportunities delayed because of the Depression. Russ received his B.A. in 1952 with a dual major in Religion and Journalism. During his college years he also served as minister to Cego Baptist Church, not far from Baylor.

From 1952 to 1954 Russ and Winnie moved back to California for a short time so that Russ could attend Seminary at West Covina, California. He also worked in a West Covina Furniture Store to support himself and Winnie. Much of what was taught in Seminary was repetitive with what Russ had learned in college. Instead of wasting his time, Russ decided to return to Baylor where he completed the course work for a Master of Arts degree in religion in one year, though he did not complete his thesis. He also served concurrently as the first non-German speaking pastor of Cottonwood Baptist Church, a German congregation in Waco.

In 1955 he returned to Pensacola to hold a revival at the Bellview Baptist Church. As a result of his success, the congregation asked him to stay as pastor, where he and Winnie pastored for six years until 1961. During this time, the congregation experienced phenomenal growth, leading to the need for new facilities. Russ built educational space first, recognizing that the needs of the Sunday school were primary. A new church with a towering steeple soon followed. On the back of a church bulletin from that time is this description:

A budget and organizational summary for the Church Year 1956-1957 indicates a monthly budget of $1,527.08 and a yearly salary of $3,900.00 for the pastor. Organist listed is Mrs. A.R. Kingman, while the Brotherhood President and General Secretary was Dan Austin. Mrs. A.R. Kingman also served as Youth Director. An invitational brochure to attend Bellview Baptist Church displays a photograph of a smiling and handsome Reverend Kingman and a photograph of the church's main auditorium. A brief biographical sketch of Kingman follows:

Russ also found time to travel to other Baptist churches for revivals. The Revere Journal, Revere, Massachusetts, May 26, 1960, ran this ad:

Russ wrote hundreds of sermons over the years, starting with his chaplain duties at the Naval Air Station, Alameda. He usually divided key sections of the sermon notes with typed or hand drawn lines across the page to indicate an organizational shift roughly corresponding to paragraphing. A typical sermon from the Bellview days was neatly typed on both sides of a page, with Biblical passages usually typed in red ink. The organization of the notes indicates extemporaneous delivery, with Russ providing transitions as he proceeded. The following sermon, "Beliefs Are Important," based on John 1:1-12, is dated February 7, 1960. Of significance is the fact that Russ included many practical examples which related the idea directly to the lives of the parishioners.

Russ and Winnie built a wonderful relationship with their congregation and accomplished much to enhance the building facilities and place the church on a sound financial footing. In the sixth year of their pastorate, a new deacon arrived from another Baptist church and immediately started splitting the congregation along political lines as a result of his dislike for Russ. Instead of putting up a fight, which would have divided even further the congregation that they loved, Russ and Winnie decided to move on--to build again in another place. Russ's philosophy was this: "After a new church is built, it's time to leave."

During his tenure at Bellview, Russ had also founded and operated Bellview Photographic Studio. He had a travel trailer with a full complement of Besseler photographic equipment. When he didn't have time to do the photographic work himself, Russ hired Navy photographers to complete assignments in weddings and legal work. At times Dan Austin lent a hand as well.

Russ dissolved the photography company, resigned as minister at Bellview, and went to the Home Mission Board in Atlanta to seek another assignment in 1961. The Board suggested a small Baptist mission in Colorado that desperately needed help. He and Winnie packed two cars and two trailers and drove to Colorado. After spending one night in a local motel at Grand Junction, Winnie had a negative premonition about the desolation of the place and said, "Russ, we have to leave now." That morning they started once again to California.

At 6:00 a.m. on Father's Day, 1961, Russ and Winnie arrived in Glendale, California, at the home of Winnie's father and mother. Since they arrived unannounced, they rapped on the window saying, "Please, can we come in?" From that moment the Kingmans made their home in Northern California. Russ could not be idle long. His immediate idea was to attend Golden Gate Seminary in Mill Valley, but was told that he needed a letter of recommendation from his home church. He immediately wrote to a friend at Bellview, Fred Chance, requesting credentials. Through a combination of vacation and neglect of his mail, Chance didn't respond until two months later. By the time his papers arrived, Russ had already rented a duplex in Mill Valley for him and Winnie and had started to work as an outside sales representative for Sears and Roebuck Catalog Store in San Rafael. As Russ often said, "We didn't leave the church; it left us."