Oliver North-Gap Rating 5/10

He was raised in Philmont, New York and enrolled in the U.S. Naval Academy in 1962, but was not commissioned as a Marine Officer until 1968; he missed some time due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

After his commission, he served in the Vietnam War as a platoon leader; at the Marine base in Okinawa, Japan; as a battlefield tactics trainer/instructor; and at Marine Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. After graduating from the Command and Staff course at Newport, Rhode Island, he was assigned to the National Security Council (part of President Ronald Reagan's Cabinet) in 1981.

North's most publicized assignment at NSC he was to aid in negotiations for the Contras, a fighting force that was attempting to prevent a Communist regime, the Sandinistas, from taking power in Nicaragua. That led to his highly-publicized involvement in what came to be known as the Iran-Contra affair. North was the point man in a complicated tradeoff that involved the sale of arms to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages being held in Lebanon, then diverting the funds from those sales to aid the Contras in their fight to keep Nicaragua free.

President Reagan fired North from his position in 1986 for allegedly acting without approval from his superiors. North testified under immunity in 1987 that his bosses, including President Reagan himself, knew everything that was going on with the negotiations and that he never once acted without prior approval from his superiors. His refusal to take the fall for the failed plan earned him a tremendous amount of nationwide support, along with many detractors who thought he acted on his own as an out-of-control maverick. For a time, the nation was swept with "Olliemania" during the trials, and with good reason.

North retired from the Marine Corps in 1989 and is still very much in the public eye. His books include "Under Fire" and "Mission Compromised." He currently hosts "Common Sense," a right-wing radio talk show. In 1994, he was defeated by Charles Robb in a bid for the U.S. Senate representing Virginia.

Oliver North is both lauded as a hero who stood up for his convictions and served his country and his government faithfully and ridiculed as a liar by many left-wing liberals.

He hosts MSNBC show "Equal Time" alongside Paul Begala. He was a major figure in the Iran-Contra affair. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1989 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.He ran as a Republican for the U.S. Senate to represent the state of Virginia in 1994 but was defeated by incumbent Democrat Chuck Robb.

Besides his commentaries and hosting his show "War Stories" on the Fox News Channel, Lt. Col. North is a best selling author of three books: "Under Fire," "One More Mission - Return to Vietnam," and "Mission Compromised."

He has rarely called by the name "Ollie" until his assignment to the National Security Council and the Iran-Contra hearings. Up to then, he mainly went by the name "Larry" (short for Laurence, his middle name).

He Is a correspondent for Fox News on defense/war issues. While assigned to the National Security Council from 1983 to 1986, his specialty was counter-terrorism operations. Some of his accomplishments include planning the rescue of the medical students being held hostage on Grenada and the bombing raid on Muammar Gadaffi''s terrorist camps in Libya.

He is a combat decorated marine, a #1 best-selling author, the founder of a small business, an inventor with three U.S. patents, a syndicated columnist, and host of "War Stories" on Fox News Channel; yet he claims his most important accomplishment as being "the husband of one and the father of four."

North was born in San Antonio, Texas, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and served 22 years as a U.S. Marine. His awards for service in combat include the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and two Purple Hearts for wounds in combat.

Assigned to the national security council staff in the Reagan administration, Colonel North was the Unites States Government's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator from 1983-1986, was involved in planning the rescue of 804 medical students on the island of Grenada, and played a major role in the daring capture of the hijackers of the cruise ship Achille Lauro. After helping plan the U.S. raid on Muammar Qaddafi's terrorist bases in Libya, North was targeted for assassination by Abu Nidal, the infamous terrorist found dead in Baghdad in August, 2002. His award-winning combat coverage, while embedded with U.S. Marine and Army units for Fox News during Operation Iraqi Freedom, won international acclaim.

He is the Author of: Under Fire, One More Mission, War Stories-Operation Iraqi Freedom; and two novels: Mission Compromised and The Jericho Sanction. All of his books are New York Times' best-sellers.

North is also the founder of Freedom Alliance, a foundation which provides scholarships for the sons and daughters of service members killed in action.er L. North is a combat decorated marine, a #1 best-selling author, the founder of a small business, an inventor with three U.S. patents, a syndicated columnist, and host of "War Stories" on Fox News Channel; yet he claims his most important accomplishment as being "the husband of one and the father of four."

North was born in San Antonio, Texas, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and served 22 years as a U.S. Marine. His awards for service in combat include the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and two Purple Hearts for wounds in combat.

Assigned to the national security council staff in the Reagan administration, Colonel North was the Unites States Government's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator from 1983-1986, was involved in planning the rescue of 804 medical students on the island of Grenada, and played a major role in the daring capture of the hijackers of the cruise ship Achille Lauro. After helping plan the U.S. raid on Muammar Qaddafi's terrorist bases in Libya, North was targeted for assassination by Abu Nidal, the infamous terrorist found dead in Baghdad in August, 2002. His award-winning combat coverage, while embedded with U.S. Marine and Army units for Fox News during Operation Iraqi Freedom, won international acclaim.

He is the Author of: Under Fire, One More Mission, War Stories-Operation Iraqi Freedom; and two novels: Mission Compromised and The Jericho Sanction. All of his books are New York Times' best-sellers.

service members killed in action.