California resident Kelly Odneal Jr. was given the opportunity to hear his father's voice for the first time since his death in the Korean War.
After discovering a phonograph record in a box full of Odneal Sr.'s belongings, he was able to find services that restored its quality and allowed him to hear his father's voice.
Odneal Jr. said he spent much of his early life unaware of his father's personality. Odneal Jr. said he would spend a lot of time with his uncles and his paternal grandparents, but he wouldn't make the decision to learn more about his father until later in his adulthood.
Just five months old at the time of his father's death, Odneal Jr. said information growing up seemed scarce. However, with the sale of the family farm years later, one of his father's brothers had discovered a box with Odneal Sr.'s belongings stored inside the attic while cleaning out the property.
Odneal Sr. was a Marine during the Korean War; his family found his father's uniform stacked on top of a collection of possessions from his time in college, Odneal Jr. said. One of these belongings was a phonograph record of his father's voice that had been produced during his time as a student at Southern Methodist University.
Odneal Jr. had the recording for 10 years, but he couldn't find anyone who wanted to touch it. Older equipment was hard to find and placing a phonograph on a modern record player could have ended in disastrous results. However, while looking for help enhancing the quality of some old photos of his father, Odneal Jr. said he was given the name of someone in Fulton who works with sound.
After getting in contact with this individual, Odneal Jr. said he felt comfortable placing the record in this person's care. While finding the right material to properly play the record seemed fruitless at first, they were able to acquire a phonograph player from that time period that manufactured a legible sound, he said.
After hearing the news that he could finally listen to his father's voice, Odneal Jr. said his heart leaped out from his chest. About 90 percent of the original recording was perfectly audible for him and his family to hear. Regardless, this had only served to make him even more hesitant around the recording.
Once the sound was digitized and transferred to a CD disk, Odneal Jr. now had a playable copy of the recording and, according to him, was still nervous to hear what his father had to say. After some thought, he said he finally decided to sit down and listen to the recording with his wife, his children, his uncles and his cousins.
Together, they listened to Kelly Odneal Sr. recite a short story entitled, "He was scared," a piece about a photographer returning home from war as a brave soldier to an overwhelming life in the United States. After the short recording had concluded, Odneal Jr. and his family noted just how uncanny the experience they had just shared actually was.
Not only did Odneal's father sound like some of his younger family members, but the story that he had recited was very close to what he would eventually go through during his time in the service.
Odneal Jr. said his father had died under enemy fire while maneuvering through the trenches of the Korean War. Mirroring these events was the story that Odneal Sr. presented to his college class all those years before. The words "he had been in the trenches fighting out in no-man's land" were nothing short of uncanny given the circumstances of his final moments.
However, it is worth noting the great irony of a man like Kelly Odneal Sr. reciting a story called "He was scared." In searching for more information on his father, Odneal Jr. said his brothers, friends and anyone else who knew him took notice just unafraid and brave he could be, even in the most serious of situations.
Since acquiring his father's possessions, Odneal Jr. had been doing as much research as he could. He had found his father's old wallet, gifts from other Marines, several documents pertaining to his military service, a collection of letters Odneal Sr. had sent back home just days before his death and two Purple Hearts that he had earned for his time on the battlefield. But what had brought Odneal Jr. the most joy was discovering what his father was attending college for.
Odneal Jr. had made quite a name for himself as a successful coach for Mid-Missouri. Over the years, he had coached basketball, baseball and softball, and was inducted into the Missouri Sports of Fame for his efforts. Imagine his surprise when he discovered his father had gone to school so he could achieve those same heights.
While Odneal Sr. was not able to pursue his goals of becoming a successful coach, his dreams live on in his son.
Although they have not seen each other since the days of the Korean War, a strong bond was still able to be built between them. Odneal Jr. said it's important to him that his father be remembered. As he continues to do more research, he hopes to keep the memory of his father alive -- not just for himself but for generations to come.