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Dear Brian Douglas Oliver, You don’t remember me. You weren’t even one year old when I visited your mom and dad. That was in 1971, shortly before I left Germany for Vietnam and your father left for flight school and then Vietnam. <em>Frank George Oliver</em>, that is, Chip (that was your dad’s nickname) fell in love with flying while serving with the Infantry in Germany and was very excited about being accepted for flight training. But he was even more excited about you. Your father had the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met, and it was bursting with pride as he held you in his arms that day. It was that picture of complete happiness and fulfillment that flashed before me when your mom called to tell me that Chip’s AH-1 Cobra helicopter crashed on 3 September 1972, while flying escort for a medical evacuation mission. You weren’t even two and had not had the chance to know your father yet. I wanted to tell you about him, but I knew you weren’t old enough to understand. Now you are 18, and it is time for you to hear, at least from this person, what a unique and wonderful person your father was.</p>
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Chip was also 18 years old when I met him on 4 July 1965. It was the first day of Beast Barracks at the United States Military Academy. Chip, like most of us, had just graduated from high school a month before. We were all awed by West Point and very uncertain about that day and the weeks ahead. For most of us it was probably the greatest mental challenge we had ever faced, and we had to fight and work together to survive. It was during this struggle that we first glimpsed that great inner strength and resolve that carried Chip, and some of us with him, through those difficult days. It was not just his spirit of cooperation and unlimited ability to give, but the ability to somehow couple his determination with a radiant sense of humor and transfer that special perspective to the rest of us. It was this humble but strong love of his fellow man and life that affected everyone so greatly and made Chip so special.</p>
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Anyone who met Chip’s family knows where he acquired his caring concern for others. His mother and father, Frank Sr. and Wanda, raised both him and his sister Barbara with this principle of serving mankind. Chip was taught the importance of being active in both his school and his community, New Kensington, Pennsylvania, where he was born and raised. His accomplishments were many. Whether it was church activities, academics, swimming, or band, Chip was always contributing, giving his time, talent and love. I know you have experienced this same love and guidance from your grandparents and that you have heard many stories about your wonderful father and his achievements.</p>
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His fellow cadets could tell you many more about his persistent pursuit of grade-tenths in Math and how he would occasionally use weekends to retreat under his “Brown-Boy” to recuperate and prepare for the next “campaign.” There were frustrating and trying times, but as busy as he was, Chip still found time to help other cadets in Spanish and to sing in the Cadet Glee Club. He also managed to stay happy more often than not and brighten our days with his infectious smile. None of us will forget watching it spread across his face until his eyes almost disappeared from sight. But he never smiled more broadly and brightly than when he married your mother. They were both very happy, and I know Lauree has told you about those few years they had together.</p>
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After graduation on 4 June 1969, they moved to Fort Benning, Georgia where Chip went to Airborne, Infantry Officer Basic, and Ranger training. You have probably seen his “jump wings” and Ranger tab. They did not come easy, and Chip wore them very proudly to his first assignment as platoon leader in the 1st battalion, 48th Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Armored Division in Gelnhausen. He later served as company executive officer and brigade S3 Air, which is where he fell in love with flying helicopters. His application for flight school was accepted, and he spent a year at Fort Wolters, Fort Rucker, and Fort Hunter, learning to fly the UH-1 (Huey) and AH-1 (Cobra). In May 1972 he reported to the 60th Aviation Assault Helicopter Company, 1st Aviation Brigade as the executive officer, and flew both Hueys and Cobras until that fatal crash.</p>
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You have probably held the medals he was awarded and wondered just what they meant. The two Bronze Stars, the five Air Medals, the Purple Heart and the Army Commendation Medal are more than just colored ribbons. They represent the courage and the commitment that your father embodied. Perhaps you have stood at his grave in the cemetery at West Point, wondering why he died and why he was buried there. The answers are those medals, those colored ribbons that attest to your father’s dedication to service. It was this dedication, born of a fully matured sense of duty, value, and pride, that led him to a career and life of service to his country and his fellow man, and that led him to choose the harder path, that noble institution at West Point for the first and for the last time. He pursued and accomplished his goals and obligations along this path with a rare sense of perseverance, sincerity, honor and humor, and in doing so, taught those around him the responsibility we all share for friends, family and country and for capturing the excitement of every minute. He gave our lives a special sparkle and perspective, showing us how to face and even enjoy the many challenges of each day. Chip’s ability to balance his intense commitment with an equally intense humor captivated our admiration and our respect.</p>
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His open soul and pure heart captured our trust and love. I have never met anyone who could give and love as much and as freely as your father. The essence of his life was love of humanity. The gentle, sincere compassion that emanated from this love was the very core of his personality. He had no enemies. Everyone who knew him enjoyed the happiness of his warm friendship. All considered him a good friend; many considered him their best friend. It is a rare person who has enough love to be a best friend to so many. He gave so freely and asked so little. His cheerful nature, warm and helpful smile and sincere friendship are all memories now. But these memories are his legacy. They guide us through the course of our lives, for he exemplified life and how to live it.</p>
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He loved life, he loved flying, and he loved his fellow man. It is fitting and noble that he gave his life while flying to protect his comrades, and that he returned to rest in peace at that noble institution where he began his service. We who knew him only regret that Chip did not live longer so that you and many others could personally experience his love. But he did live a full life, for he inspired and touched more lives in his short time than most of us will in our full lives. Even the emptiness we all experienced with his death soon filled with the memories that he left behind and the enriched life he left ahead of us. That special sparkle of excitement and warm glow of love for life and humanity will always be with us to light the way.</p>
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<em>A BEST FRIEND</em></p>
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