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View a eulogy for Lewis Cortez Olive, USMA '55, who passed away on November 20, 2006.

Lewis Cortez Olive

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by James E. Drummond on October 9, 2009:

Lewis Olive was already known as an extraordinary cross country runner and track miler when he came to Beast Barracks. By the end of Corps Squad screening, he was entrenched as the premier cross country on the "C" Squad Team. I have no access to records of his wins that first year but I do know that every time he won a meet, we in 2d Battalion, 1st Regiment got to eat "at ease".

Lew was a very private person and classmates often found him difficult to become close to. Certainly, that was the case with me. However, his Corps Squad Track and Cross Country team mates, I am told, treasured him as a loyal team member and attested to his competitiveness.

During either plebe or yearling year, Lew was entered in a meet in Louisville, KY. The night before the meet, he and some companions were walking to supper, they noticed a fire in a civilian apartment. They alerted the Fire Department and the inhabitants, and assisted in the evacuation of several children ... as my memory serves me. Our class will recall that Lew was awarded the Army Commendation Ribbon with Medal Pendant at a Regimental Band Box Review in Central Area during our yearling year.

As a class, we all lost contact with him in his later years but we can salute his accomplishments as an Army athlete.

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