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Continued from A-1reported missing following the capitulation of American forces in the Manila Bay.At the time, the family received a message, signed by Rear Admiral Randall Jacobs, chief of the bureau of navigation, which said, “He will be carried on the record of the Navy Department as missing pending further information,” Jacobs said. “No report of his death or injury has been received, and he may be a prisoner of war.”The last correspondence the family had with Harry was a letter, dated Dec. 17, 1941. The letter simply said, “Everything is OK,” Harry.“That was the last we heard from him, until we got the message (from Jacobs),” Peery said.On Aug. 5, 1943, the family received information that Harry was transferred to a prisoner war camp in Osaka, Japan. ,On Sept. 20, 1945, Harry finally came home.“If Harry wasn’t in as good of shape, he probably would not have made it,” Peery said. “He was a star football and baseball player, and was in good physical condition. But he was never the same when he came back (from the POW camp).”On Dec. 11,1945, Harry received a personal greeting from President Harry Truman. In the letter, Truman said “As your Commander in Chief, I take pride in your past achievements, andexpress the thanks of a grateful nation for your services in coma louiici ui wai.Harry died at age 40.Sgt. William “Dewey” Odom, a resident of Wythe County, graduated from Welch High School in 1937. He worked with Pocahontas Fuel Company, but after war was declared with Japan he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in the South Pacific for the duration of the war with Japan.William remained concerned about brother Harry during the war.“We never lost hope in Harry, but you did hear some pretty bad stories about prisoners in Japan,” he said. “A lot of the prisoners died in the march. They marched them for miles.”According to William, the true meaning of Memorial Day has been lost.“In the cities, you see a lot of sales going on,” he said. “All of the department stores are open. That’s not what Memorial Day is about.”James DuMont Odom joined a pilot school in Chicago prior to the war. However, James returned home after the great Valentine’s Day Massacre occurred, and later joined the U.S. Navy.Howard L. Odom finished school in 1933, and served four years in the Navy. Howard was one of the radiomen selected for Admiral Byrd’s Antarctic expedition. He left the United States on Nov. 22, 1937, for the South Pole. He arrived home from the South Pole expedition in May 1941.“Sixty years ago, there was an article in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph,’’ Peery said. “In 1937,I U1C.Ralph Devoux Odom, who lives in Greenfield, Mass., also joined the U.S. Navy. Ralph served in the submarine squadron, where he was presented the Letter of Commendation for his outstanding performance of duty in action against the Japanese army, while serving in a submarine on war patrol in the Pacific Ocean.Charles Ray Odom, who lives in San Francisco, Calif., graduated as valedictorian from his high school class, and graduated from Roanoke Business School. After the war, he graduated from the University of Virginia. He served during the war in the South Pacific.Emerald Odom, who lives in Great Falls, Mont., joined theNavy after graduating from high school. He served in the Atlantic Ocean.Richard Lindburg Odom joined the U.S. Air Force after finishing high school. He was still in training when the war ended.A ninth brother, Jack Odom, did not serve in World War II. However, Jack was in the Korean War.“They all lived in McDowell County at one time,’ Peery said. “We all lived there at one time, and then moved to Boissevain. When the war was going on, the boys in the service could never say where they were being transferred to.”Today, the legacy of Peery’s eight brothers lives on.“1 have my flag up for the veterans on every holiday,” she said. “Except one, the Fourth of July. That was Harry’s birthday.”
Newspaper Details
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Bluefield, West Virginia, US
Mon, May 26, 1997
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Becky K.
NA, 05 Jul 2023
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