Oliver North Biography
Oliver North is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and American political pundit, television personality, military historian, and author.
How old is Oliver North? – Age
He is 78 years old as of 7 October 2021. He was born in 1943 in San Antonio, Texas, United States. His real name is Oliver Laurence North.
Where did Oliver North go to high school? – Family
He is the son of Ann Theresa (née Clancy) and US Army, Major Oliver Clay North. He attended Ockawamick Central High School in Philmont, New York, and graduated in 1961. He spent two years at the State University of New York in Brockport. North earned an invitation to the United States Naval Academy in 1963 after spending a summer at the United States Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Class at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
In 1968, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Jim Webb, the future Secretary of the Navy and a U.S. senator were one of North’s classmates at the academy, and he beat him in a middleweight championship boxing battle at Annapolis. (Dennis C. Blair, Michael Mullen, Charles Bolden, and Michael Hagee were among the graduating class, and North had presented tapes of this match to Marine Medical Corps officials to verify that he had fully recovered from his terrible accident and could withstand the rigors of midshipman training.)
Who is Oliver North Married to? – Wife
North married Betsy Stuart in 1967, and the couple has four children. North has long attended Protestant or evangelical services with his wife and children, despite his mother’s Roman Catholic faith. McLean, Virginia is where the Norths call home.
Oliver North Vietnam
During the Vietnam War, North served as a platoon commander and was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal with Combat V, and two Purple Heart medals for his combat service. North was a platoon leader leading his Marines in Operation Virginia Ridge when he was awarded the Silver Star. As his platoon faced heavy machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades, North led a counter-assault against the People’s Army of Vietnam. North demonstrated “courage, dynamic leadership, and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of great personal risk” throughout the combat.
North returned to South Vietnam in 1970 to testify as a character witness in the prosecution of Lance Corporal Randall Herrod, a former U.S. Marine who had been accused of the murder of sixteen Vietnamese villagers in the village of Son Thang, along with four others. Herrod, according to North, had already saved his life. Herrod and another Marine were found not guilty.
From 1969 to 1974, North worked as an instructor at the Marine Basic School; from 1973 to 1974, he was the director of the Northern Training Area in Okinawa, Japan; from 1975 to 1978, he worked as a plan and policy analyst with the manpower division at Headquarters Marine Corps; and from 1978 to 1980, he was the operations officer (S3) for the 3rd Battalion, 8th Regiment, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune.
Oliver North House
He lives in his home in Bluemont, Virginia (VA), US, where he owns a house.
Oliver North Testimony
North was summoned by a joint congressional committee investigating the Iran–Contra crisis in 1987. When the scandal broke, he acknowledged to trashing federal documents linked to these operations at William Casey’s request. He was sentenced to 1,200 hours of community service after being convicted of three felonies in 1989. His convictions were overturned in 1990 after an appeals court found that his shielded congressional testimony had influenced witnesses in his trial.
Oliver North Iran–Contra
North rose to prominence as a result of his role in the Iran–Contra scandal, in which he claimed partial responsibility for the sale of US arms to Iran and earnings to the Contras. North sought $10 million from the Sultan of Brunei in order to avoid a ban on intelligence agencies sponsoring Contras. North detailed a discussion with Panamanian General Manuel Noriega about sabotage against Sandinista leadership in an e-mail to National Security Adviser John Poindexter. Oliver North was invited to appear before Congress about the Iran–Contra incident in 1987. When the scandal broke, he acknowledged to trashing federal documents linked to these operations at William Casey’s request.
On May 4, 1989, he was found guilty of three counts: taking an illegal gratuity, obstructing a congressional investigation, and ordering the destruction of papers through his secretary. His convictions were overturned in 1990, with the intervention of the ACLU, after an appeals court found that witnesses in his trial may have been improperly influenced by his shielded congressional testimony.
Oliver North Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of $5 Million.
Oliver North Salary
He earns an annual salary of $2 Million.