Humanities Alumni Spotlight:

Alumnus Finds Great Reward in Work

James G. Connell Jr. is a Senior Analyst for the Joint Commission Support Directorate (JCSD), a component of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office, supporting the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on Prisoners of War/Missing in Action. "The greatest reward in our work," he says, "is the genuine appreciation of the relatives and loved ones of Americans missing in action that their government is doing something to help alleviate their grief, which is still strongly felt even after so many years."

Connell, from Adel, Georgia, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1961 and served aboard guided missile destroyers USS Farragut and USS Lawrence. After accepting a Reserve commission, Connell earned an M.A. in Comparative Literature at the University of Georgia and both an M.A. and Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures at Ohio State. He recalls, "Professor Frank Silbajoris, whom I still visit occasionally, influenced me with his cosmopolitanism and world view. His stories of life in Lithuania helped set the Soviet Union in context."

For ten years, Connell taught Russian language, literature, and culture at Valdosta State University. Returning to active duty, he served for four years with the Naval Reserve Force in New Orleans. In 1988, he joined the On-Site Inspection Agency and served in Germany and Ulan-Ude in the Soviet Union in connection with the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty. Connell retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1991, after serving in Rome, Munich, and Washington.

In 1991, Connell became a civilian senior analyst detailed to support the Moscow Office of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs. He then served four years as Deputy Chief and then five years as Chief, JCSD-Moscow. Connell visited most major prisons, GULAG labor camps, and psychiatric hospitals where foreigners were held during the Cold War and interviewed thousands of former Soviet citizens. He says, "After the technical education at the Naval Academy, a humanities background has made my interaction with Russians and other Europeans much easier."

Connell holds the military Meritorious Service Medal and the Navy Commendation Medal and was awarded the Department of Defense Exceptional Civilian Service Award in 2000.