Charles Gunter Olentine

West Point, 1949

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Tom Cassin on June 20, 2010:

I met, then, Major Olentine my freshman year at The University of Texas in ROTC. Maj. Olentine had been assigned to put together a track team for Intramurals which was a "big" deal at UT in those days. I volunteered to run and we must have done some good because five years later I ran into Lt. Col Olentine at church in Mannheim, Germany. We were both in civilian clothes and he looked familiar to me but he hugged me and exclaimed, "my runner". The, now Lt.Col, Olentine and my wife and myself helped with various church chores. The Olentines were more than gracious and invited us over for dinner a couple of times. When I was "short" and waiting to go home, Col. Olentine invited me for our last supper. It was a special experience for me. After dinner we had a long talk and he, subtly, suggested I consider staying in the Army. As a young, non RA, company commander, I was deeply honored and inspired to follow his advice. Things didn't break that way but I did remain in the Reserves. The tributes in his personal information are absolutely correct. Col. Olentine was someone I'll never forget. He influenced me in a very positive way. Someone once said, "there are no coincidences". I truly believe that to be true.

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