Russell Roth Papers

Russell Frederick Roth was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1921. He later moved to Minneapolis with his parents. Roth attended the University of Minnesota and as a student he wrote for both the Minnesota Daily and Ski-U-Mah, a student-produced humor magazine. After earning his bachelor’s degree in journalism and his marriage to Virginia Budde, he entered an Army training program to become an engineer. After his completion of the program, he was sent to Southeast Asia. His time spent there, mostly in the Philippines, led to his membership in the military’s Order of the Carabao and sparked a lifelong interest that eventually led to a book and many articles.

After returning from Japan in 1946, he earned his master’s degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota and taught there for four years. Between 1952 and 1954, Roth worked for the Minneapolis Tribune both as writer and editor. He then worked for 3M, where he wrote advertisements and press releases for newly-developed items such as Scotchguard and videotape. Roth worked for Campbell-Mithun, a Minneapolis advertising agency, during the 1960’s. Two of their major clients, the Hong Kong Tourist Association and Singapore’s Tourist Promotion Board sponsored a trip Roth took there in 1965.

Roth became very active in “Veterans for Peace” in opposition to the Vietnam War. From 1967 to 1978, Roth wrote for the magazine, Modern Medicine. He won several awards, including the Jesse H. Neal Editorial Achievement Award in 1974, for an article he co-wrote on the shameful treatment and medical neglect the Vietnam Vets were receiving from the Veteran’s Administration. Throughout his life, Roth was also a freelance writer. He co-wrote a [never-performed] musical, “Easy Water” with Keith D. Kennedy. He studied and wrote a great deal about Ambrose Bierce and William Faulkner and was widely regarded as an expert on them. After in-depth research, his book on the Spanish-American War in Philippines, Muddy Glory, was published in 1981. From Roth’s research came an undertaking to have one of the few still-living soldiers from that war, Herman Miller, granted the Medal of Honor he had been refused many years before. [Through Roth’s work, the medal was eventually granted posthumously.]

Roth was befriended and corresponded with other known writers through his life such as Frederick Manfred, Dan Brennan and Sinclair Lewis. Roth was also friends with Doc Evans and other jazz musicians and was a lifelong jazz fan, drummer and critic.