Vietnam-era U.S. Marine Corps veteran Rusty Fleming was born and raised in Oklahoma City. Following high school graduation, he attended Cameron Junior College on a basketball scholarship but returned shortly to Oklahoma City and started a career with the Bell System in 1964.

The draft came calling in January of 1966, and he joined the Marines for two years, deployed to Vietnam in March 1967, and served in an artillery unit. He returned in March 1968, during the Tet Offensive.

Rusty resumed his career with the Bell System, which resulted in a transfer to Tulsa and the introduction to Grand Lake, which proved to be a life-changing experience. He left Bell System in 1981, moved to the lake, and actively supported Grand Lake initiatives.

In 1988, he established the Grand River Chronicle newspaper. He backed mandated lake level targets, highlighted FERC's lake management role, advocated Shoreline Management and water quality projects, and participated in multiple lake groups.

In his oral history, Rusty talks about his Vietnam service, his newspaper, his radio show, and Oklahoma State University on the podcast and website Voices of Oklahoma.