serviceyears branch allegiance birth_date laterwork commands image_size placeofburial_label battles spouse rank image caption birth_place unit awards nickname article_title birth_name
1968 -- 1990 united states marine corps united states of america 07 october 1943 correspondent candidate with the fox news channel united states senate marine corps northern training area , okinawa 275 place of burial vietnam war betsy -lrb- married 1967 , four children -rrb- 18px lieutenant colonel olivernorth.jpg in iraq , december 2007 san antonio , texas , u.s. 1st 8th marines 2nd marine division battalion 3rd marines -lrb- vietnam -rrb- 3rd battalion silver '' purple heart medal -lrb- 2 -rrb- combat action ribbon star presidential service badge medal bronze star medal with `` v ollie oliver north
 oliver laurence north
oliver north

oliver laurence `` ollie '' north -lrb- born october 7 , 1943 -rrb- is an american political commentator and television host , military historian , `` new york times '' best-selling author , and a former united states marine corps lieutenant colonel .
north is primarily remembered for his term as a national security council staff member during the iran -- contra affair , a political scandal of the late 1980s .
the scandal involved the clandestine sale of weapons to iran , supposedly to encourage the release of u.s. hostages then held in lebanon .
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 , which had been specifically prohibited under the boland amendment .
he was the host of `` war stories with oliver north '' on fox news channel .
