Oliver North

American career marine and patriot who was fired from the National Security Council (NSC) in November 1986 for allegedly setting up foreign bank accounts and diverting millions of dollars in profits from arms sales to Iran to the Nicaraguan Contra rebels. On 3/16/1989 he was indicted by a Grand Jury on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by illegally providing the Nicaraguan rebels with profits made from the sale of U.S. weapons to Iran. Called variously a scoundrel and a national hero, all charges were dismissed on 9/16/1991 by a federal court. His dad, an army colonel who adored him, died in 1984, leaving behind a very close family. Oliver and his three younger siblings attended Catholic school. In 1963 he attended the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, graduating in 1968. In 1964, the weekend of George Washington's birthday, he was in a serious car accident and was laid up for three months. While still in Annapolis, he met Betsy and they dated from March to November 1968, when they married. They had four kids, but it was not always smooth. In the early '70s, their marriage almost capsized; with counseling he and Betsy got back on an even keel. A committed Christian, she totally trusts Ollie, and he brags that he has always been faithful to her. Immediately after they married, he served one year, from December 1968 to November 1969, in Vietnam. The recipient of many medals, he taught at Quantico, VA to July 1974. He taught one year at Okinawa before being assigned to the NSC in July 1985 under Reagan, beginning his operations in the White House basement. He unsuccessfully ran for the office of Virginia Senator in November 1994. Link to Wikipedia biography