Harrison Township trustees dedicate portion of garden to 'Digger' O'Dell

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — At a meeting on May 22, the week before Memorial Day, the Harrison Township Board of Trustees voted to memorialize a township veteran by naming a section of a garden in his honor.

The board approved a motion to expand and dedicate a portion of Harrison Township’s veterans memorial garden outside of Rosso Hall in honor of Donald “Digger” O’Dell, with plans to have a monument commemorating his Air Force and public service installed on the site. 

A lifelong resident of Harrison Township, O’Dell joined the Air Force in 1952 and became a pilot in 1955. During the Vietnam War, he flew F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber jets, in which he was shot down on Oct. 17, 1967. O’Dell was taken as a prisoner and was kept in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” before being repatriated on March 14, 1973. O’Dell remained involved with the Air Force after retiring in 1978 by serving in a civilian capacity as Selfridge Air National Guard Base’s public affairs officer for 12 years. He was involved in Wertz Warriors to support the Michigan Special Olympics and spoke about his wartime experiences. O’Dell died on October 22, 2020.

“I was in this room (Rosso Hall board chambers) one year for the Veterans Day ceremony and to hear him speak,” Harrison Township Supervisor Ken Verkest said. “The things he endured and the stories that he told, it was very, very moving. I’m moved now just thinking about that story.”

Discussion was had about commissioning a monument in O’Dell’s honor for the garden with preliminary ideas including an aeronautical-themed archway with a plaque describing O’Dell’s life, military career and his involvement with the Special Olympics.

“He never stopped giving,” Harrison Township Treasurer Lawrence Tomenello said.

The monument will be paid for with donated funds.

 

Infrastructure projects
The board also approved a $51,400 contract to Wade Trim to engineer the relocation of the Catfish Channel Sanitary Sewer pump station.

Rehabilitated over the course of 2021 and 2022, an expansion of the North River Road bridge by the Macomb County Department of Roads requires the station to be relocated. The department will pay for the relocation, while Harrison Township will pay for the engineering.

The board approved another $7,200 payment to Wade Trim in order to develop an application for a Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot grant. The idea to pursue the grant came from discussions with Selfridge Air National Guard Base and would likely cover most of the costs to rehabilitate the Prentiss lift station.