Captain
Captain “Frank” Oliver
d. August 24, 2010
Capt. Edward “Frank” Oliver, USCG, Ret.
11/12/1922-8/24/2010
Captain Edward Franklin Oliver passed away in Bellingham, WA on August 24, 2010 at the age of 87. Captain Oliver was born in North Bend, Oregon in 1922. His love of the sea led him at age 16 to work as a seaman on Red Stack Tugs in San Francisco Bay. In 1942, he graduated from the California Maritime Academy. Frank received a Juris Doctor of Law degree from George Washington University in 1971 and was a member of the New York Bar. In 2003, he was the recipient of the California Maritime Academy‘s first Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2006, the Council of American Master Mariners awarded Frank the LaLonde Spirit of the Seas Award for his universal caring spirit and encouragement to all. Also in 2006, he was named one of the top 100 graduates of Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California.
Frank served in the Merchant Marine in World War II, in all theaters of combat, on troop ships and cargo ships. He participated in the Guadacanal, Attu and Philippine Island invasions. His first command at the age of 24 was a Liberty ship, the SS BRET HARTE.
In 1950 he was commissioned in the U.S. Coast Guard as a Lieutenant and served on cutters and overseas assignments. He was Shipping Advisor to the State Department at U.S. Embassies in Italy, Vietnam and Singapore. During his Vietnam War tour of duty at the Embassy in Saigon, he had a collateral assignment as advisor to the U.S. Navy’s Sealift Command. While there, he received a commendation for single-handedly disarming a crazed Captain of an ammunition ship docked in Cam Ranh Bay who was threatening to shoot the chief mate and blow up the ship. The U.S. Army military police had sealed off the ship and the ammunition pier and flew Captain Oliver up from Saigon to quell the disturbance. Frank was also awarded the Bronze Star, the U.S. Navy Commendation Citation and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross.
While assigned as attache at the US Embassy in Singapore, Frank met Judy Potter, a Canadian nursing sister at Gleneagles Hospital. In September, 1974, they were married at the American Ambassador’s Residence in Singapore.
His last assignment in the Coast Guard was as Captain of the Port of New York where he had under his command a force numbering over 300 officers and men and 10 cutters. While Frank and Judy resided there on Governor’s Island, Alexandra Oliver was born. Frank retired from the Coast Guard in 1976 and Mayor Abraham Beame presented him with a Certificate of Appreciation for his heroic contributions to the City of New York. He and the family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he was manager of Crowley Maritime Company and from there returned to Singapore. In 1979, they moved to Bellevue, Washington and from there Frank traveled to the South China Sea to serve as Master of the drill ship E.W. THORNTON. He was selected by the Saudi Arabian Government in 1980 to be the Port Director of King Fahd Port at Yanbu on the Red Sea. He and his family spent five memorable years in Saudi Arabia where they had the privilege to travel extensively throughout the Middle East, Europe and Africa. After leaving Saudi Arabia, the Oliver family moved to Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, residing at Grove Hall Estate on Lake Quamichan.
Frank served world wide as a nautical consultant and Master of Admiralty for admiralty law firms and the United Nation’s International Maritime Office (IMO). During his service with the United Nations, he supervised projects in India, China, Tanzania and Mozambique.
Captain Oliver was an adventurer in every sense of the word. His 40-year career spanned the globe but he said the most exciting time of his life was when he ran the bulls at Pamplona, Spain in 1962.
He is survived by his wife Judy; his three daughters Beverly Massey, Janet Hunter and Alexandra Oliver; six grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; his beloved sister Leslie Oliver; and many wonderful nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to one of the following: VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), the California Maritime Academy‘s Maritime History Endowment Fund and the American/Canadian Heart Association.
11/12/1922-8/24/2010
Captain Edward Franklin Oliver passed away in Bellingham, WA on August 24, 2010 at the age of 87. Captain Oliver was born in North Bend, Oregon in 1922. His love of the sea led him at age 16 to work as a seaman on Red Stack Tugs in San Francisco Bay. In 1942, he graduated from the California Maritime Academy. Frank received a Juris Doctor of Law degree from George Washington University in 1971 and was a member of the New York Bar. In 2003, he was the recipient of the California Maritime Academy‘s first Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2006, the Council of American Master Mariners awarded Frank the LaLonde Spirit of the Seas Award for his universal caring spirit and encouragement to all. Also in 2006, he was named one of the top 100 graduates of Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California.
Frank served in the Merchant Marine in World War II, in all theaters of combat, on troop ships and cargo ships. He participated in the Guadacanal, Attu and Philippine Island invasions. His first command at the age of 24 was a Liberty ship, the SS BRET HARTE.
In 1950 he was commissioned in the U.S. Coast Guard as a Lieutenant and served on cutters and overseas assignments. He was Shipping Advisor to the State Department at U.S. Embassies in Italy, Vietnam and Singapore. During his Vietnam War tour of duty at the Embassy in Saigon, he had a collateral assignment as advisor to the U.S. Navy’s Sealift Command. While there, he received a commendation for single-handedly disarming a crazed Captain of an ammunition ship docked in Cam Ranh Bay who was threatening to shoot the chief mate and blow up the ship. The U.S. Army military police had sealed off the ship and the ammunition pier and flew Captain Oliver up from Saigon to quell the disturbance. Frank was also awarded the Bronze Star, the U.S. Navy Commendation Citation and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross.
While assigned as attache at the US Embassy in Singapore, Frank met Judy Potter, a Canadian nursing sister at Gleneagles Hospital. In September, 1974, they were married at the American Ambassador’s Residence in Singapore.
His last assignment in the Coast Guard was as Captain of the Port of New York where he had under his command a force numbering over 300 officers and men and 10 cutters. While Frank and Judy resided there on Governor’s Island, Alexandra Oliver was born. Frank retired from the Coast Guard in 1976 and Mayor Abraham Beame presented him with a Certificate of Appreciation for his heroic contributions to the City of New York. He and the family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he was manager of Crowley Maritime Company and from there returned to Singapore. In 1979, they moved to Bellevue, Washington and from there Frank traveled to the South China Sea to serve as Master of the drill ship E.W. THORNTON. He was selected by the Saudi Arabian Government in 1980 to be the Port Director of King Fahd Port at Yanbu on the Red Sea. He and his family spent five memorable years in Saudi Arabia where they had the privilege to travel extensively throughout the Middle East, Europe and Africa. After leaving Saudi Arabia, the Oliver family moved to Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, residing at Grove Hall Estate on Lake Quamichan.
Frank served world wide as a nautical consultant and Master of Admiralty for admiralty law firms and the United Nation’s International Maritime Office (IMO). During his service with the United Nations, he supervised projects in India, China, Tanzania and Mozambique.
Captain Oliver was an adventurer in every sense of the word. His 40-year career spanned the globe but he said the most exciting time of his life was when he ran the bulls at Pamplona, Spain in 1962.
He is survived by his wife Judy; his three daughters Beverly Massey, Janet Hunter and Alexandra Oliver; six grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; his beloved sister Leslie Oliver; and many wonderful nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to one of the following: VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), the California Maritime Academy‘s Maritime History Endowment Fund and the American/Canadian Heart Association.
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