thedrifter
03-05-08, 08:37 AM
Three kids in the Corps
by: MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer
3/4/2008 12:00 AM
Barbie and Milton Odomon of Tulsa have a daughter, son and son-in-law serving in the Marines.
No one has to tell Barbie and Milton Odom what Semper Fidelis means.
The Marine Corps motto -- Latin for "always faithful" -- takes on a special significance in the Odom household.
How could it be otherwise with a daughter, a son and a son-in-law in the Marines?
That is a lot of Marines in one family, considering that neither Barbie nor Milton Odom served with the military.
In fact, their lives went in an opposite direction -- they were Christian volunteers working in Israel.
The Odoms met in 1978 while working at a northern Israeli kibbutz (collective communi ty), and they married there four years later.
They spent the first two weeks of their honeymoon in a bomb shelter because Israel had launched an invasion of Lebanon.
While in Israel, the Odoms befriended the director of their Christian group and his wife.
That couple had an infant son whom the Odoms often would baby-sit.
"I even changed his diapers," Barbie Odom joked.
She had every reason to laugh about that.
Through happenstance, that infant grew up to become the couple's son-in-law -- Marine Sgt. Daniel Walker.
The Odoms have six children -- three daughters and three sons. Their youngest daughter, Jayme Odom, joined the Marines nearly four years ago.
Cpl. Jayme Odom, 21, is in Fallujah, Iraq, where she works in an intelligence unit, translating radio transmissions from the enemy. She can speak Arabic, including the Syrian and Iraqi dialects. She also knows Spanish and Hebrew.
Because of its top-secret nature, Jayme Odom cannot tell her parents much about her work, Milton Odom said.
Not even the good things, apparently.
"I wish I could tell you about all the wonderful things going on here, but I can't," she recently wrote to her parents.
The other member of the family in the Marines is the oldest son, Lance Cpl. Joseph Odom, 19, who is assigned to the 3rd Radio Battalion out of Hawaii.
Much like his sister, Joseph Odom also is doing top-security work and cannot tell his parents much about what he is doing.
All they know is that he is collecting intelligence in the Philippines.
The Odoms said their son and daughter scored well in military tests and performed admirably in training.
Jayme Odom completed her boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., and was the camp's honor graduate, her parents said.
Walker, 30, the couple's son-in-law, is not doing intelligence work, but his job is top security, nevertheless, the Odoms said.
He is a Marine criminal investigator based in San Diego.
He cannot publicly discuss what he does either, the Odoms said.
Walker lives in California with the Odoms' oldest daughter, Brandi Walker, 25, and their two daughters.
This summer, he will go to Iraq, and his wife and daughters will return to Tulsa to live with her parents.
Walker became the Odoms' son-in-law through pure chance.
The Odoms moved to Tulsa from Israel in 1983. In the meantime, the Walker family moved back to California.
Despite their distance, the two families stayed in touch.
One year, when Walker's mother was visiting the Odoms, he decided to come to Tulsa to see his mother. He was training at Fort Leonard Wood in central Missouri at the time.
Walker met Brandi Odom, romance ensued, and they married in 2003.
The Odoms are looking forward to the return of Jayme Odom, who has been in Iraq for seven months. She is due home this month.
Like all parents, the Odoms said they are quite proud of their children, not just the ones in the Marines.
Their other children are Shannon, 23, who recently graduated from the University of Oklahoma; Wesley, 17; and his brother, Chad, 15.
The last time the entire family was together was last summer, the parents said, so they are looking forward to the next time when they can all meet.
By that time, perhaps the Odoms will learn more about the exploits of their Marine family.
"I find it interesting they can't tell us what they do," Barbie Odom said.
On the other hand, her husband joked, "If they told us, they'd have to kill us," citing that familiar expression used by top-secret military operatives.
Manny Gamallo 581-8386
manny.gamallo@tulsaworld.com
Ellie
by: MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer
3/4/2008 12:00 AM
Barbie and Milton Odomon of Tulsa have a daughter, son and son-in-law serving in the Marines.
No one has to tell Barbie and Milton Odom what Semper Fidelis means.
The Marine Corps motto -- Latin for "always faithful" -- takes on a special significance in the Odom household.
How could it be otherwise with a daughter, a son and a son-in-law in the Marines?
That is a lot of Marines in one family, considering that neither Barbie nor Milton Odom served with the military.
In fact, their lives went in an opposite direction -- they were Christian volunteers working in Israel.
The Odoms met in 1978 while working at a northern Israeli kibbutz (collective communi ty), and they married there four years later.
They spent the first two weeks of their honeymoon in a bomb shelter because Israel had launched an invasion of Lebanon.
While in Israel, the Odoms befriended the director of their Christian group and his wife.
That couple had an infant son whom the Odoms often would baby-sit.
"I even changed his diapers," Barbie Odom joked.
She had every reason to laugh about that.
Through happenstance, that infant grew up to become the couple's son-in-law -- Marine Sgt. Daniel Walker.
The Odoms have six children -- three daughters and three sons. Their youngest daughter, Jayme Odom, joined the Marines nearly four years ago.
Cpl. Jayme Odom, 21, is in Fallujah, Iraq, where she works in an intelligence unit, translating radio transmissions from the enemy. She can speak Arabic, including the Syrian and Iraqi dialects. She also knows Spanish and Hebrew.
Because of its top-secret nature, Jayme Odom cannot tell her parents much about her work, Milton Odom said.
Not even the good things, apparently.
"I wish I could tell you about all the wonderful things going on here, but I can't," she recently wrote to her parents.
The other member of the family in the Marines is the oldest son, Lance Cpl. Joseph Odom, 19, who is assigned to the 3rd Radio Battalion out of Hawaii.
Much like his sister, Joseph Odom also is doing top-security work and cannot tell his parents much about what he is doing.
All they know is that he is collecting intelligence in the Philippines.
The Odoms said their son and daughter scored well in military tests and performed admirably in training.
Jayme Odom completed her boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., and was the camp's honor graduate, her parents said.
Walker, 30, the couple's son-in-law, is not doing intelligence work, but his job is top security, nevertheless, the Odoms said.
He is a Marine criminal investigator based in San Diego.
He cannot publicly discuss what he does either, the Odoms said.
Walker lives in California with the Odoms' oldest daughter, Brandi Walker, 25, and their two daughters.
This summer, he will go to Iraq, and his wife and daughters will return to Tulsa to live with her parents.
Walker became the Odoms' son-in-law through pure chance.
The Odoms moved to Tulsa from Israel in 1983. In the meantime, the Walker family moved back to California.
Despite their distance, the two families stayed in touch.
One year, when Walker's mother was visiting the Odoms, he decided to come to Tulsa to see his mother. He was training at Fort Leonard Wood in central Missouri at the time.
Walker met Brandi Odom, romance ensued, and they married in 2003.
The Odoms are looking forward to the return of Jayme Odom, who has been in Iraq for seven months. She is due home this month.
Like all parents, the Odoms said they are quite proud of their children, not just the ones in the Marines.
Their other children are Shannon, 23, who recently graduated from the University of Oklahoma; Wesley, 17; and his brother, Chad, 15.
The last time the entire family was together was last summer, the parents said, so they are looking forward to the next time when they can all meet.
By that time, perhaps the Odoms will learn more about the exploits of their Marine family.
"I find it interesting they can't tell us what they do," Barbie Odom said.
On the other hand, her husband joked, "If they told us, they'd have to kill us," citing that familiar expression used by top-secret military operatives.
Manny Gamallo 581-8386
manny.gamallo@tulsaworld.com
Ellie