thedrifter
03-24-09, 07:41 AM
Flag flown in Iraq paid tribute to local Marine
By Robert Zullo
Published: Monday, March 23, 2009 at 11:40 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, March 23, 2009 at 5:16 p.m.
SCHRIEVER - One of the two words that make up their cherished motto means "always."
The men and women who have served in the U.S. Marine Corps are linked across generations of conflicts by a simple Latin phrase.
Literally, Semper Fidelis means "always faithful," but as old leathernecks like 66-year-old Robert "Butch" Odum, of Schriever, are quick to point out, the motto represents a lifelong commitment.
There's no such thing as a former Marine, they say.
And that bond of service was evident Saturday, on a mild afternoon in a sunroom crowded with the family and friends of two Marines separated by 43 years.
William "Billy" Johnston IV, a 23-year-old Marine sergeant and a graduate of H.L. Bourgeois High School, presented Odum, a Vietnam veteran, with a flag and framed certificate Johnston brought back from his third and final deployment to Iraq.
Nearing the end his time at the Al-Asad airfield, in Anbar province, Johnston, a helicopter mechanic, decided to take advantage of his squadron's practice of flying American flags on missions in honor of friends and family who served.
The flag dedicated to Odum, a family friend who worked with Johnston's father at Global X-Ray & Testing Corp. for decades, flew aboard an UH-1N Huey helicopter during a Nov. 21 combat mission.
"It hit me that this is the last time I'm going to be out here," Johnston said.
The certificate bears the squadron insignia, a picture of the helicopter and the signatures of Huey's crew. It recognizes Odum, an infantryman who left the Marines as a staff sergeant, "for unselfish acts never forgotten but always repeated."
Johnston's father, William Johnston III, said he had the flag and framed picture at Christmas, but decided to wait until his son was home to give it to Odum.
Surrounded by friends and family at Odum's house on Horseshoe Road in Schriever, Johnston presented Odum with the flag and certificate in a surprise gathering organized by Odum's wife Betty.
As he walked through the door to find more than a dozen people in his house, Odum was wary.
"It ain't my birthday," he said. "Somebody better tell me what the hell's going on."
The two Marines embraced as Johnston presented the flag and certificate.
"Thanks for everything you did back in the '60s," Johnston said.
Odum, who joined the Marines at age 16, served as a drill instructor at Paris Island, S.C., and did two tours in Vietnam before he was seriously wounded at the battle for the city of Hue in February 1968. A bullet pierced Odum's face just below his temple and exited his jaw before going into his shoulder.
"I don't know what to say except thank you," Odum said of the gift, which will join a collection of Marine Corps memorabilia in his living room. "It's something I'll cherish for the rest of my life."
Odum and his wife, both cancer survivors who volunteer with the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, have known Johnston since he was a baby and are close family friends.
"When he told he was going he and I had a talk," Odum said. "That was his dream, to be a Marine. And he wound up being a damn good one."
CORRECTION: This article orginally contained an error. Butch Odum served two tours in Vietnam, not three.
Ellie
By Robert Zullo
Published: Monday, March 23, 2009 at 11:40 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, March 23, 2009 at 5:16 p.m.
SCHRIEVER - One of the two words that make up their cherished motto means "always."
The men and women who have served in the U.S. Marine Corps are linked across generations of conflicts by a simple Latin phrase.
Literally, Semper Fidelis means "always faithful," but as old leathernecks like 66-year-old Robert "Butch" Odum, of Schriever, are quick to point out, the motto represents a lifelong commitment.
There's no such thing as a former Marine, they say.
And that bond of service was evident Saturday, on a mild afternoon in a sunroom crowded with the family and friends of two Marines separated by 43 years.
William "Billy" Johnston IV, a 23-year-old Marine sergeant and a graduate of H.L. Bourgeois High School, presented Odum, a Vietnam veteran, with a flag and framed certificate Johnston brought back from his third and final deployment to Iraq.
Nearing the end his time at the Al-Asad airfield, in Anbar province, Johnston, a helicopter mechanic, decided to take advantage of his squadron's practice of flying American flags on missions in honor of friends and family who served.
The flag dedicated to Odum, a family friend who worked with Johnston's father at Global X-Ray & Testing Corp. for decades, flew aboard an UH-1N Huey helicopter during a Nov. 21 combat mission.
"It hit me that this is the last time I'm going to be out here," Johnston said.
The certificate bears the squadron insignia, a picture of the helicopter and the signatures of Huey's crew. It recognizes Odum, an infantryman who left the Marines as a staff sergeant, "for unselfish acts never forgotten but always repeated."
Johnston's father, William Johnston III, said he had the flag and framed picture at Christmas, but decided to wait until his son was home to give it to Odum.
Surrounded by friends and family at Odum's house on Horseshoe Road in Schriever, Johnston presented Odum with the flag and certificate in a surprise gathering organized by Odum's wife Betty.
As he walked through the door to find more than a dozen people in his house, Odum was wary.
"It ain't my birthday," he said. "Somebody better tell me what the hell's going on."
The two Marines embraced as Johnston presented the flag and certificate.
"Thanks for everything you did back in the '60s," Johnston said.
Odum, who joined the Marines at age 16, served as a drill instructor at Paris Island, S.C., and did two tours in Vietnam before he was seriously wounded at the battle for the city of Hue in February 1968. A bullet pierced Odum's face just below his temple and exited his jaw before going into his shoulder.
"I don't know what to say except thank you," Odum said of the gift, which will join a collection of Marine Corps memorabilia in his living room. "It's something I'll cherish for the rest of my life."
Odum and his wife, both cancer survivors who volunteer with the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, have known Johnston since he was a baby and are close family friends.
"When he told he was going he and I had a talk," Odum said. "That was his dream, to be a Marine. And he wound up being a damn good one."
CORRECTION: This article orginally contained an error. Butch Odum served two tours in Vietnam, not three.
Ellie