Story of the Month May 2015
“There’s not a day that goes by that I do not think about something that happened in Vietnam, it’s something that sticks with you forever."
First Class Gunners Mate Van Odell, USN
In May of 2011, the United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program had the honor of attending the Swift Boat Sailors Association Reunion in San Antonio, Texas. Over the course of the reunion, the team had the opportunity to interview First Class Gunners Mate Van Odell. Odell began his interview by sharing that he was from a Navy family and decided to join out of high school. He learned valuable lessons from his father who served in World War II. He had also been inspired by his Scout Master who was First Class Boatswain's Mate who served in China and was stationed aboard battleships during the Second World War. These influential figures in his life provided valuable life lessons that would assist Odell in the United States Navy.
Gunners Mate First Class Odell was first assigned to the USS Whitehurst DE 634 out of Seattle, Washington and then was accepted into Gunners Mate A School in Great Lakes. He volunteered to join the Swift Boats in Vietnam and was initially rejected due to his age. After much persistence, he was accepted and was assigned to the Swift Boats. After training in San Diego, Odell remarked, “I immediately flew over to Vietnam and was put on Swift Boats in An Thoi, Coastal Division 11, as far south as you could get. At the time it was the most active and hostile place the Navy could place you because that’s where all of the 
action was going down in the rivers.” He would serve as the Gunners Mate and service all of the guns. His battle station was the twin .50 caliber mount on top of the pilot 
house. The crew that he trained with would remain together for almost six months before being sent to other crews. He shared, “We were in quite a few firefights…every one of our crew members made it back.” He spoke of the trying times as well as his fond memories recalling, “There’s not a day that goes by that I do not think about something that happened in Vietnam, it’s something that sticks with you forever. It’s the hardship you went through, the danger you went through, the camaraderie…when you face things in the business world or everyday life, they are just absolutely tiny compar
ed to anything that you went through before.” This positive outlook on his experiences echoed throughout his interview. Odell would later share his memories from his first patrol and experiences on the rivers of South Vietnam with vivid detail and description specifically on the events of March 13th.
To hear the moving story of Vietnam War Veteran First Class Gunners Mate Van Odell, United States Navy, come alive; view his detailed experience that has been digitally archived by the Navy Memorial.
The United States Navy Memorial honors First Class Gunners Mate Van Odell, featured within the series titled, Tales from the Navy Log, Story of the Month. Each month, this series honors a Veteran’s story recorded by the Stories of Service Program at the Navy Memorial. To learn more about this story and to explore the Navy Memorial Tales from the Navy Log Archive, visit the Navy Memorial Stories of Service site.