Oliver North was born in October 7, 1943. He is a retired U.S Marine Corps officer. He is also a political commentator. He has written different novels and story books and has become the best New York Times author. During 1980, Oliver was in front line in the Iraq-Contra affair which was a political scandal. North was involved in sell of weapons to support Contra Rebel groups in Nicaragua. He was charged with many felonies but convicted of three. Later he was released due to lack of enough evidence. North has been in security department and then in politics. He has been a famous person and a public figure since he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the 1st Battalion 3rd Marine. He headed the 1st Battalion for many years before joining politics. In his life as a US Marine he was awarded several awards of honor which include; Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Presidential Service Badge. All those awards were given to him due to the perfect job he did during his time while serving as a Marine (Cockburn 24).
Early life
He was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1943. He was born by Ann Theresa and his father, Oliver Clay North who served as an army Major. He was brought up in Philmont, New York where he attended OckawamickHigh School and graduated in 1961. After graduation, North went to State University of New York at Brockport and took a period of two years. When in University he spent summer at Marine Corp Base Quantico, Virginia. In 1963, he got an appointment in United StatesNavalAcademy and received a commission as 2nd Lieutenant in 1968. The U.S Senator and former Secretary for Navy, Jim Webb was his class mate at the NavalAcademy. North beat Webb in boxing while in college though he was an underdog (Cockburn 231).
Career and social life
He served in the U.S Marine as a platoon leader in Vietnam and during the service he was awarded Sliver Star, Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts medal. After Vietnam he became an instructor to train other officers at The Basic School in Quantico. He was sent back to Southern Vietnam in 1970 to testify against Corporal Randy Herrod who was charged with mass killing. The Corporal killed many Vietnam civilians. North was then promoted to the rank of Captain in 1971, and then transferred to Northern Training Area for Marine Corps in Japan. After his service in Japan was then transferred to Marine headquarters for four years in Arlington, Virginia. He was promoted to Major and headed 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment where he worked under Lt. Col. John Southy Grinalds. Grinalds preached the gospel to North and he was converted to Christianity (Cockburn 45).
From 1981 to 1986, Oliver served in the National Security Council as the deputy director for military affairs in Washington, DC. In 1983 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and this was his last rank in the Military. While serving in National Security Council he managed to contact certain missions which were successful. The missions made U.S to gain victory. He hunted the contrabands that bombed Beirut barracks in 1983 and killed 241 U.S Marines. He then led to hijacking of EgyptAir jet which was carrying people who were responsible for Achille Lauro hijacking. Finally, while in NSC he managed to successfully plan for bombing of Libya and invasion of Grenada (Bradlee, 1998).
North participated in the Iraq-Contra affair termed as a political scandal of 1980. He was responsible for selling weapons to Iraq through intermediaries. He was responsible for the relationship which extended for the sell of weapons and burned by Boland Amendment. In November 1986, north was summoned to testify for his action before televised hearing by investigators of the issue of sales of weapons. In 1987, he was dismissed by the president and charged with fifteen felonies. He admitted the offence of selling the weapon and defended himself by saying that, by the sell of the weapon to the Contra was to support freedom fighters. The court found him guilty of three offences and charged. District judge Gerhard A. Gesell sentenced North to 3 years suspension prison and other fines which included $ 150,000 and 1,200 hours to perform community work. After appealing the court found out that the witness might have planned to testify against him due to his publicity. He was released and his convictions were vacated (Cockburn 78).
North joined politics in1994. He unsuccessfully ran for Senator Seat of Virginia as Republican. He lost slightly to his competitor. He had 43% while his competitor had 46%. The son in law of the presented, Lyndon B. Johnson, won the seat. North did not win the seat, but he had collected large amount for campaigns. He had a record of having the highest amount for campaign in that year. He raised $20.3 million of which about $16 million were raised through mails. North has written many books which include; Under Fire, Mission Compromised, The Jericho Sanction, operation Iraq Freedom and The Assassins. His latest book is called American Heroes, and was released on May 2008 in America. In 1990, North was determined to help people get their freedom and he established a freedom alliance (Bradlee 89).
Conclusion
North has achieved many things and this makes him to be remembered for the things he has marked in life. He was raised in Catholic Church but he has being attending Protestant evangelical service. He is also a board member of NRA.