Milton B. Olive, 81, father of Army Pfc. Milton Lee Olive III, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously during the Vietnam War, died Monday in South Chicago Community Hospital.
Milton B. Olive was a retired social worker for the Chicago Human Resources Department, now called the Department of Human Services.
He was a native of Lexington, Miss., and came to Chicago when he was 17. Before working for the city, he worked for General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division in La Grange for 15 years.
Mr. Olive’s son saved four of his fellow soldiers when he was 18 by covering an enemy grenade with his body on Oct. 22, 1965. Chicago’s Olive Park at Ohio Street and the lake is named for Pfc. Olive, as are Olive-Harvey College and the Olive Child Parent Center operated by the Chicago Public Schools.
Over the years, Mr. Olive steadfastly appeared at numerous events and dedications to honor his son. In 1966, Mr. Olive told the Chicago City Council, “It’s not an easy thing to be the father of a hero.”
In 1970, at the rededication of a monument to his son on the lakefront after the previous one had been destroyed by vandals, Mr. Olive said: “Skipper, today is again your today. You are forever enshrined in the fabric of the decent human conscience.”
Mr. Olive, who lived in Vernon Park on the South Side, is survived by his wife, Antoinette.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday in the Griffin Funeral Home, 3232 S. King Drive, and services will follow.