Robert Franklin Olson

Robert “Bob” Franklin Olson was raised on a farm in rural Hancock County and attended the Britt school district. He was married in April 1954 and entered the Army in 1958. Olson served in the Army for 11 years before being killed in Vietnam. He completed Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, GA. CAPT Olson served 19 months in Germany and then Korea before being deployed to Vietnam. After completing one tour of duty, CAPT Olson signed up for a second. He was wounded four times during his service in Southeast Asia. On his second tour he was assigned to Team 58 of the Military Advisory Command working as an advisor for South Vietnamese troops on river patrol boats. CAPT Olson was killed on August 7, 1969 in a non-hostile accident aboard a river patrol boat in an inland waterway. The 35-year-old Captain left behind a wife and one-year-old daughter. His body was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Britt.