The 50th Anniversary Memorial for Milton Lee Olive III and Lessons Learned
Just north of Navy Pier, in Chicago, lies little known Olive Park. It is so named after Pfc. Milton Lee Olive III, an 18 year old Army veteran from Chicago who sacrificed his life to save others in his platoon during a search and destroy mission in Vietnam on October 22, 1965.
Pfc. Milton Lee Olive III received the Medal of Honor posthumously for 'conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty'. Pfc. Olive was a member of the 3rd Platoon of Company B, as it moved through the jungle to find Viet Cong operating in the area. Although the platoon was subjected to a heavy volume of enemy gunfire and pinned down temporaily, it retaliated by assaulting the Viet Cong position, causing the enemy to flee. As the platoon pursued the retreating Viet Cong, Pfc. Olive and four other soldiers were moving through the jungle together when a gernade was thrown in their midst. Pfc. Olive saw the gernade and then saved the lives of his fellow soldiers at the sacrifice of his own by grabbing the gernade in his hand and falling on it to absorb the blast with his body.
On April 21, 1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson, flanked by Richard J. Daley presented the Medal of Honor to Milton J. Olive Jr. Chicago has since further commemorated his life and courage by naming a park, a junior college and a portion of the McCormick Place Convention after him.
Lessons from the Vietnam War we should never forget
The Vietnam war touched many of us of a certain age, whether drafted or never served in the military. My birth date in 1952 put me into the August 5, 1971 draft lottery. Like the Kennedy assassination, it was a day forever burned into my memory. As a freshman in college there was no single event that could loom larger than the draft lottery. Driven by sheer nerves I was unable to listen to the radio for the lottery results. Instead my mother listened to the lottery drawing, while I painted a barn. Finally she came down from the house, crying and gasping for air as she approached my ladder. I was number five, sure to be drafted soon.
I remember my knees weakened, which was not good while perched upon a tall ladder. I was going to be drafted into a war I did not support in the least way. A first cousin had already dodged the draft when he fled prior to induction. A full day went by until we realized that mother had misheard the birth date and my number was really 174, instead of 5, a number probably high enough.
Hoping the draft would not rise to my number, I resumed my college education and supported any effort to end that war. The secret bombing of Cambodia and Laos in 1970, Kent State and the Pentagon Papers were still fresh. The Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) was gathering strength and quite frankly I believed what VVAW had to say. Ultimately there were 94,092, up to lottery number 95 drafted in 1971.
Nixon announced the cease fire on January 15, 1973 and Saigon fell on April 30, 1975. I pushed the Vietnam War out of my mind as quickly as possible along with any recognition or regard for the people who served in that war.
So when I was invited to the event in Olive Park on October 22, 2015, it was an opportunity to understand the other side of the war, that I clearly did not see at the time. I think memorials such as for Mr. Milton Olive III are important for anyone from that era regardless of which side you were on.
There were many speeches that justifiably praised Mr. Olive III and the company that served with him. But there are some lessons that should not be forgotten or lost in time, lessons that should be brought up even at memorials for veterans such as Mr. Milton Olive III.
First, is that US imperialism can be defeated. When the US invaded South Vietnam in 1965 it was believed that a super power could easily impose it's will on a third world country. But after the TET offensive in January 1968 and the US retreat in 1975 it is clear that a super power can be defeated. We have to understand that the US is not invincible.
Second, is that millions of Americans that previously support a war effort can be quickly turned against that war. This is especially possible by articulate antiwar veterans, activist GI's and the exposure of lies or falsehoods that lead to the war in the first place.
Third, it is important to have a vibrant anti-war movement at home to provide a countervailing balance to entering a war on fabricated reasons. The Iraq War in 2003 comes to mind in this instance. A solid anti-war voice then may have prevented the US disastrous entry into the Iraq war.
Fourth, The burden of fighting any future wars should be shared by all eligible citizens. The current all volunteer army excludes many possible recruits and hides the burden of war from the majority population. From WWII to January 1973 the military draft tried to more evenly share the burden of war with all levels of society, especially after the lottery was introduced in 1969.
Fifth, minimize the death of innocent civilians. During the Vietnam war estimates are between 800,000 and 1 million Vietnam civilians were killed.
So on October 22, 2015, exactly 50 years after Milton Olive III lost his life in a jungle battle, a memorial was held at the park bearing his name. Members of his platoon gathered to honor Milton Olive for his bravery that day 50 years ago. It was a gorgeous, sunny day for the memorial service.
Following are some pictures from that day:
Pfc. Milton Lee Olive III received the Medal of Honor posthumously for 'conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty'. Pfc. Olive was a member of the 3rd Platoon of Company B, as it moved through the jungle to find Viet Cong operating in the area. Although the platoon was subjected to a heavy volume of enemy gunfire and pinned down temporaily, it retaliated by assaulting the Viet Cong position, causing the enemy to flee. As the platoon pursued the retreating Viet Cong, Pfc. Olive and four other soldiers were moving through the jungle together when a gernade was thrown in their midst. Pfc. Olive saw the gernade and then saved the lives of his fellow soldiers at the sacrifice of his own by grabbing the gernade in his hand and falling on it to absorb the blast with his body.
On April 21, 1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson, flanked by Richard J. Daley presented the Medal of Honor to Milton J. Olive Jr. Chicago has since further commemorated his life and courage by naming a park, a junior college and a portion of the McCormick Place Convention after him.
Lessons from the Vietnam War we should never forget
The Vietnam war touched many of us of a certain age, whether drafted or never served in the military. My birth date in 1952 put me into the August 5, 1971 draft lottery. Like the Kennedy assassination, it was a day forever burned into my memory. As a freshman in college there was no single event that could loom larger than the draft lottery. Driven by sheer nerves I was unable to listen to the radio for the lottery results. Instead my mother listened to the lottery drawing, while I painted a barn. Finally she came down from the house, crying and gasping for air as she approached my ladder. I was number five, sure to be drafted soon.
I remember my knees weakened, which was not good while perched upon a tall ladder. I was going to be drafted into a war I did not support in the least way. A first cousin had already dodged the draft when he fled prior to induction. A full day went by until we realized that mother had misheard the birth date and my number was really 174, instead of 5, a number probably high enough.
Hoping the draft would not rise to my number, I resumed my college education and supported any effort to end that war. The secret bombing of Cambodia and Laos in 1970, Kent State and the Pentagon Papers were still fresh. The Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) was gathering strength and quite frankly I believed what VVAW had to say. Ultimately there were 94,092, up to lottery number 95 drafted in 1971.
Nixon announced the cease fire on January 15, 1973 and Saigon fell on April 30, 1975. I pushed the Vietnam War out of my mind as quickly as possible along with any recognition or regard for the people who served in that war.
So when I was invited to the event in Olive Park on October 22, 2015, it was an opportunity to understand the other side of the war, that I clearly did not see at the time. I think memorials such as for Mr. Milton Olive III are important for anyone from that era regardless of which side you were on.
There were many speeches that justifiably praised Mr. Olive III and the company that served with him. But there are some lessons that should not be forgotten or lost in time, lessons that should be brought up even at memorials for veterans such as Mr. Milton Olive III.
First, is that US imperialism can be defeated. When the US invaded South Vietnam in 1965 it was believed that a super power could easily impose it's will on a third world country. But after the TET offensive in January 1968 and the US retreat in 1975 it is clear that a super power can be defeated. We have to understand that the US is not invincible.
Second, is that millions of Americans that previously support a war effort can be quickly turned against that war. This is especially possible by articulate antiwar veterans, activist GI's and the exposure of lies or falsehoods that lead to the war in the first place.
Third, it is important to have a vibrant anti-war movement at home to provide a countervailing balance to entering a war on fabricated reasons. The Iraq War in 2003 comes to mind in this instance. A solid anti-war voice then may have prevented the US disastrous entry into the Iraq war.
Fourth, The burden of fighting any future wars should be shared by all eligible citizens. The current all volunteer army excludes many possible recruits and hides the burden of war from the majority population. From WWII to January 1973 the military draft tried to more evenly share the burden of war with all levels of society, especially after the lottery was introduced in 1969.
Fifth, minimize the death of innocent civilians. During the Vietnam war estimates are between 800,000 and 1 million Vietnam civilians were killed.
So on October 22, 2015, exactly 50 years after Milton Olive III lost his life in a jungle battle, a memorial was held at the park bearing his name. Members of his platoon gathered to honor Milton Olive for his bravery that day 50 years ago. It was a gorgeous, sunny day for the memorial service.
Following are some pictures from that day: