Final Salute

One day when Ole was a young lad his dad caught him smoking a cigar. His dad said, “Ole, I smell a man but I don’t see one.” Despite this transgression, Ole did very well in High School and received an appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. After four successful years at the Academy, Ole received his commission as an Officer in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) in 1964.
His first duty assignment was with the Navy Seabees in Mobile Construction Battalion Five deployed to Okinawa where he was the Battalion Embarkation Officer. He was trained for that assignment at the Marine Corps Embarkation School on Okinawa where he graduated first in his class. He put his embarkation training to good use in directing the loading of pre-positioned material to be transported from Okinawa to Vietnam.
Prior to leaving Okinawa, Ole was the ring leader among three junior officers who each decided to buy an Austin Healey sports car. When the Battalion returned stateside, Ole and his two cohorts took 30 days leave to see Europe, including a stop in London, where they checked on the production of their new Healey’s.
The threesome survived their European foray and upon his return to California, the Navy sent Ole to Stanford University to pursue a master’s degree in Civil Engineering. In addition to his sports car, Ole bought a Triumph motorcycle while at Stanford but in spite of those distractions he was awarded the master’s degree.
As a freshly minted Civil Engineer, Ole was assigned as Resident Officer in Charge of Construction at Travis Air Force Base east of San Francisco where he managed a sizeable construction workload for the Air Force. After Travis AFB, Ole went to the Navy’s Construction Regiment in Vietnam which was responsible for the construction operations of several Seabee Battalions in-country.
His next assignment was with the Officer in Charge of Construction at the new Submarine Base at Bangor, Washington. His main project there was the construction of a Trident Submarine Repair Facility. Ole received the Moreell Medal as the outstanding CEC officer of the year for his highly successful construction management at the new Sub Base.
Following Navy assignments included the Public Works Center in Yokosuka, Japan and Commanding Officer of Mobile Construction Battalion 62 which deployed to Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean. After that Seabee tour, Ole became the Executive Assistant to the Admiral in Charge of the Reserve Seabee Program in the United States. It was during the Reserve Seabee Program job that Ole met Phyllis, the love of his life, and they were happily married for 36 years.
Capping off a full career in the Navy, Captain Olsen was Executive Officer at Public Works Center San Diego, Commanding Officer, Public Works Center Guam and his last duty was COMCBLANT.
After retiring from the Navy in 1990, Ole had a highly successful follow-on career in the private sector as a top-level construction manager on several mega projects. His first civilian job was Plant Manager at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Subsequently Ole and Phyllis moved to the Albuquerque, NM area where Ole was an Executive Construction Manager for the Intel Corporation overseeing the construction of several of the company’s new production facilities until he retired from Intel in 2015.
Ole was a great friend, an outstanding Naval Officer and Construction Manager. He may be gone but he will not be forgotten.
Captain Olsen is survived by his wife, Phyllis, two step sons and four grandchildren. His funeral service will be at the Arlington National Cemetery at a future date to be announced.