Digger Odell was born on July 25, 1934, in Pontiac, Michigan. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on September 6, 1952, and served as an aircraft armament specialist before entering the Aviation Cadet Program of the Air Force on April 24, 1954. He was commissioned a 2d Lt and awarded his pilot wings on August 1, 1955. Lt Odell next completed pilot instructor training before serving as an instructor pilot from October 1955 to August 1958, followed by F-86 Sabre Combat Crew Training and Advanced Interceptor Training from August 1958 to February 1959. His next assignment was as an F-86 and then F-102 Delta Dagger pilot with the 525th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Bitburg AB, West Germany, from April 1959 to May 1962, and then as an F-106 Delta Dart pilot with the 94th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Selfridge AFB, Michigan, from June 1962 to February 1967. Maj Odell then completed F-105 Thunderchief Combat Crew Training before deploying to Southeast Asia where he served as an F-105 pilot with the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Korat Royal Thai AFB, Thailand, from August 1967 until he was forced to eject over North Vietnam and was taken as a Prisoner of War on October 17, 1967. After spending 1,976 days in captivity, Col Odell was released during Operation Homecoming on March 14, 1973. He was briefly hospitalized at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, and remained there in Planning and Procurement until his retirement from the Air Force on March 10, 1975. Digger Odell Flew West on October 22, 2020, and was buried at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan.