SANGB remembers POW

Courtesy Photo | Donald E. "Digger" Odell, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and pilot, died on October 22, 2020. Odell spent five and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, from 1967 until 1973. (Courtesy photo)  

SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, MI, UNITED STATES

10.22.2020

Story by Tech. Sgt. Daniel Heaton 

127th Wing

Donald E. “Digger” O’Dell, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and once fighter pilot who endured nearly six years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, died October 22, 2020.
Odell was also well known for his long tenure as an organizer and co-founder of the Wertz Warrior snowmobile ride program, an annual fundraiser for the Michigan Special Olympics program.
“Lt. Col. Odell was an American hero and inspiration to several generation of Airmen,” said Brig. Gen. Rolf E. Mammen, commander of the 127th Wing and Selfridge Air National Guard Base. “He was always a friend to those who wear our nation’s uniform.”
Odell was a native of Pontiac and lived in the Mount Clemens area after his retirement from the Air Force. After retirement, he served for 12 years as the civilian public affairs officer for Selfridge Air National Guard Base, retiring in 1990.
On Oct. 17, 1967, while flying in an F-105 Thunderchief on his 17th mission over North Vietnam, Odell’s aircraft was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire while on a bombing strike on the railyards at Dep Cau. After ejecting from his aircraft, Odell was captured by North Vietnamese nationals. Held as a prisoner of war, he endured frequent torture at the hands of his captors, until he was liberated and returned to the United States on March 14, 1973.
For years, Odell was in demand as a speaker for military and veteran events. He would often conclude his speaking engagements by acknowledging that America was not perfect. He would go on to then ask the audience that if they knew of a better place, of a better system of government, under which to live, to please give him a call.
“The phone never once rang,” Odell said in later years.
Odell stated many times that he was always willing to speak about his experiences as a prisoner in the notorious “Hanoi Hilton” in Vietnam as part of his own coping mechanism.
"I decided to go out and speak about it, get it off my chest," Odell said once of his frequent speaking engagements. "I think that was the smartest thing I ever did. I've never had a hang up about it. I think to speak about it helped. I'd like to think I'm strong enough (to not consider suicide) but maybe if I didn't talk about it, there was a possibility."
Odell enlisted in the Air Force in 1952. Three years later, he was commissioned as an officer and became a pilot. Among his assignments, in 1966, he served as an F-106 Delta Dart pilot with the famed 94th “Hat in the Ring” Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at what was then-known as Selfridge Air Force Base. In August 1967, he reported to Korat Air Base in Thailand and the 37th Tactical Fighter Squadron for service in support of operations in Vietnam.
Odell’s military awards include the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal for Valor with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with 11 Bronze Stars, and the Prisoner of War Medal.
While serving as the public affairs officer at Selfridge in the late 1970s, Odell was among the founders of the current Selfridge Base Community Council, which brings together local community and business leaders with military personnel at the base. Odell is also an inductee of the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor at the Michigan History Museum in Lansing.
In 2017, a street at Selfridge Air National Guard Base was re-named in his honor.
Odell was the father of four children.

• Date Taken: 10.22.2020
• Date Posted: 10.22.2020 18:34
• Story ID: 381552
• Location: SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, MI, US