Biographical Note
Mark Olver was born October 8th, 1947, in Damascus, Pennsylvania to Wayne Olver and Inez Olver. Growing up in a small rural community, Olver decided to forgo college and move to New Jersey when he was eighteen in 1966. Not long after, he received his draft notice for the U.S. Army. Olver deployed to Vietnam in September 1967 and served as a private first class with D Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Division, 1st Infantry Division.
While stationed in Vietnam, Olver was primarily located in Phouc Vinh where he and his unit routinely went on search-and-destroy patrols experiencing combat with North Vietnamese forces. On August 28th, 1968 Olver was wounded during a search and destroy operation by an enemy mortar attack. He was evacuated to the 24th Evacuation Hospital in Long Binh with a depressed skull fracture. After recovering, Olver was medically discharged from the Army as an E-4 in 1969.
After his service, Olver worked with his father in a farm-oriented equipment business, eventually becoming a carpenter. He later married his wife, Deborah Olver.