38 Facts About Oliver North

Oliver Laurence North was born on October 7,1943 and is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel.

Oliver North formulated the second part of the plan, which was to divert proceeds from the arms sales to support the Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua, sales which had been specifically prohibited under the Boland Amendment.

Oliver North was granted limited immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying before Congress about the scheme.

Oliver North was initially convicted on three felony charges, but the convictions were vacated and reversed and all charges against him dismissed in 1991.

Oliver North unsuccessfully ran for the US Senate seat held by Chuck Robb from Virginia in 1994.

Oliver North then hosted a talk show on Radio America from 1995 to 2003, and hosted War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News from 2001 to 2016.

In May 2018, Oliver North was elected as president of the National Rifle Association.

Oliver North grew up in Philmont, New York, and graduated from Ockawamick Central High School in 1961.

Oliver North attended the State University of New York at Brockport for two years.

Oliver North received his commission as second lieutenant in 1968, having missed a year due to serious back and leg injuries from an auto accident in which a classmate was killed.

Oliver North served as a platoon commander during the Vietnam War, where during his combat service, he was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal with Combat V, and two Purple Heart medals.

At the time of his being awarded the Silver Star, Oliver North was a platoon commander leading his Marines in Operation Virginia Ridge.

Oliver North led a counter-assault against the People's Army of Vietnam, as his platoon took on heavy machine gun fire and rocket propelled grenades.

In 1970, Oliver North returned to South Vietnam to testify as a character witness at the trial of Lance Corporal Randall Herrod, a US Marine formerly under his command who, along with four others, had been charged with the murder of sixteen Vietnamese civilians in the village of Son Thang.

Oliver North graduated from the College of Naval Command and Staff at the Navy War College in 1981.

Oliver North submitted his request to retire from the Marine Corps effective May 1,1988, following his indictment for conspiring to defraud the United States by channeling the profits from US arms sales to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

Oliver North solicited $10 million from the Sultan of Brunei to skirt US prohibitions on funding the Contras.

Oliver North told Poindexter that General Noriega could assist with sabotage against the ruling party of Nicaragua, the Sandinista National Liberation Front.

Oliver North supposedly suggested that Noriega be paid $1 million in cash from Project Democracy funds raised from the sale of US arms to Iran for the Panamanian leader's help in destroying Nicaraguan economic installations.

In November 1986, as the sale of weapons was made public, Oliver North was dismissed by President Ronald Reagan.

Oliver North testified that Robert McFarlane had asked him to alter official records to delete references to direct assistance to the Contras and that he had helped.

Oliver North was indicted in March 1988 on 16 felony counts.

Oliver North's trial opened in February 1989, and on May 4,1989, he was initially convicted of three: accepting an illegal gratuity, aiding and abetting in the obstruction of a congressional inquiry, and ordering the destruction of documents through his secretary, Fawn Hall.

Oliver North was sentenced by US District Judge Gerhard Gesell on July 5,1989, to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines, and 1,200 hours of community service.

Oliver North performed some of his community service within Potomac Gardens, a public housing project in southeast Washington, DC.

However, on July 20,1990, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Oliver North's convictions were vacated, after the appeals court found that witnesses in his trial might have been impermissibly affected by his immunized congressional testimony.

Oliver North's candidacy was documented in the 1996 film A Perfect Candidate.

On May 7,2018, the National Rifle Association announced that Oliver North would become the organization's next president within the following weeks.

Oliver North is a board member in the NRA and appeared at NRA national conventions in 2007 and 2008.

Oliver North became increasingly known for his media career and appearances.

From 1995 to 2003, North was host of his own nationally syndicated talk radio show on Radio America, which was known as the Oliver North Radio Show or Common Sense Radio With Oliver North.

Oliver North served as co-host of Equal Time on MSNBC from 1999 to 2000.

North was the host of the television show War Stories with Oliver North from 2001 to 2016 and is a regular commentator on Hannity, both on the Fox News Channel.

Oliver North appeared as himself on many television shows, including the sitcom Wings in 1991, and three episodes of the TV military drama JAG in 1995,1996, and 2002 as "Ollie", a close friend of the deceased father of Tracey Needham's character Meg Austin.

Oliver North has appeared as himself in several film documentaries.

Oliver North appears in an episode of Auction Kings to have his Marine Corps sword returned after it was lost and presumably stolen in 1980.

Oliver North was credited as a military consultant in the 2012 video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II and voiced himself in one level of the game.

In 1967, Oliver North married Betsy Stuart; they have four children.