Capt. Jeffry Jon OLSON

   Cause of his death was Non Hostile: Plane crash.

  Birth Notes:

Mountain Home Air Force Base

  Noted events in his life were:

• Obituary: Grand Forks Herald, 1991, ND. Friday, February 8, 1991
Capt. Jeffry Jon Olson, 27, formerly of Grand Forks, died Sunday, Feb. 3, 1991. He was a crewmember aboard a B-52 that crashed in the Indian Ocean off the island of Diego Garcia.

A memorial services will be at 3:30 p.m. Monday in Sharon Lutheran Church. Military honors will be conducted by Grand Forks Air Force Base. A memorial service will be today at Faker Air Force Base, Ark. An educational scholarship fund is being established in his name. Memorials can be directed to the family at 2211 Springbrook Court, Grand Forks.

Jeffry Jon Olson was born April 4, 1963, at Mountain Home Air Force. Raye Idaho, the son of Jean Olson and Lt. Col. Norris Olson (USAF Ret). He attended schools in Sacramento Calif., Dayton, Ohio and graduated in 1981 with honors from Red River High School. He graduated in 1986 from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo., with a degree in operations research and received a master's degree in operations research from the University of Arkansas in 1989.

He received his Air Force commission in 1986 and his military training included navigational training in 1987 and upgrade training to radar navigator in 1990. He held the rank of captain and was assigned to duty as a B-52 radar navigator at Eaker Air Force Base at the time of his death. He married Cheryl Bono, Jan. 12, 1989 in Blytheville, Ark.

She survives along with his parents, Grand Forks sister, Tara Moorhead; brother Marc, Minot Air Force Base and grandmother, Alma Laerbo, Minot.

He was preceded in death by grandparents, Jacob and Marie Olson and Alvin Laerbo.

• Reference: WarMemorial.US. Jeffry J. Olson - ND (27) Gulf War
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Name: Olson, Jeffry Jon
Service Branch: United States Air Force
United States Air Force Academy (USAFA): Class of 1985
Rank: Captain
Duty: Radar Navigator
Age: 27
Birth: 1963-04-05 -- Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho
Date of Death: 1991-02-03
Place of Death: Indian Ocean, off the coast of Diego Garcia
Cause of Death: Killed, Non Hostile: Plane crash
Home of Record City: Grand Forks
Home of Record County: Grand Forks
Home of Record State: North Dakota
Conflict: Persian Gulf War

About
Son of Dr. Jean A. (née Lierbo) and Lieutenant Colonel Norris O. Olson. Younger brother of Marc Norris Olson. Norris served in Vietnam out of Clark Air Base, Philippines and Danang, Vietnam, 1965-1967. His father (class of 1959) and his brother (class of 1983) were also both graduates of the United States Air Force Academy. Jeffry was raised mainly in Grand Forks, North Dakota with his family, which also included younger sister Tara Lynn.

Jeffry graduated from Red River High School in Grand Forks in 1981, the USAFA, Colorado Springs, in 1986, and earned a Master's degree in operations management in 1989 from the University of Arkansas.

He married Cheryl S. Bono in Blytheville, Arkansas, on 11 January 1989. Blytheville was the home of one of Jeffry's station stops, Eaker Air Force Base.

Jeffry died when his B-52G, tail number 59-2593, suffered a catastrophic electrical system failure. The crew had just flown a sortie to Iraq as part of Desert Storm and was returning to base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The six crew members ejected at a low altitude and three of them either died on impact with the water or drowned.

Posthumous recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal and National Defense Medal.

Died with
Also killed in the accident were:

Captain Jorge I. Arteaga
First Lieutenant Eric D. Hedeen

[http://warmemorial.us/mediawiki3/index.php?title=Jeffry_J._Olson_-_ND_(27)_Gulf_War]

• Reference: Remembering a B-52G Aircrew. Remembering a B-52G Aircrew from Eaker AFB, Blytheville, Arkansas on Veterans Day

February 3, 1991: B-52G, tail number 59-2593, from 42nd Bomb Wing, Loring AFB, under command of the 4300d Bomb Wing (Provisional), experiences a catastrophic electrical system failure while returning from a bombing mission over Iraq. At least five of its eight engines flame out, and the aircraft crashes into the Indian Ocean 2-3 miles north of the island. An aircrew from 97th Bomb Wing, Eaker AFB, ejects at a low altitude (between 1,000 and 200 feet above the water), and although three crew members eject safely, three others, Captain Jeffry J. Olson, First Lieutenant Jorge I. Arteaga, and First Lieutenant Eric D. Heeden, are killed on impact or drowned.

I was deployed to Diego Garcia for 207 days back in 1991 from Eaker AFB as a Contingency Contracting Officer. The aircrew of the doomed B-52G was from my base. Capt Jeff Olson was my friend and often we would meet at the Officers' Club on a Friday night to play table shuffleboard. One of the great actions I was able to do during my deployment was to buy the marker above to honor the three who gave their lives. Unfortunately the bodies of Captain Jeffry J. Olson and First Lieutenant Jorge I. Arteaga were not recovered. This marker is the closest one could be placed to where the aircraft crashed.

Above is the ceremony on Veterans Day 1991 to dedicate the marker to the B52G aircrew killed in an accident on 3 Feb 1991 in the Indian Ocean. The marker honors Captain Jeffry J. Olson, First Lieutenant Jorge I. Arteaga, and First Lieutenant Eric D. Heeden. The location of market is at the Point Marianne Cemetery on Diego Garcia.

[...]

Captain Jeffry J. Olson, Class of 1986, died when the B-52 on which he was a crew member crashed into the Indian Ocean on Feb. 3, 1991. Jeff was the navigator on board the aircraft which was returning from an Operation Desert Storm bombing mission. Jeff was a graduate of CS-24 and most of his squadron classmates remember him as always being full of life. He was the spark that kept his squadron classmates motivated. Whenever times were tough and it was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, Jeff was always there to cheer you up and help you make the best of the situation.

Jeff was a highly devoted and motivated Air Force officer. He was proud to be in the Air Force and proud to be a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. Jeff's father graduated from the Academy in 1959. He was a pilot in B-52s and has since retired. Jeff's brother also graduated from the Academy in 1984 and is currently a pilot in the B-52. Jeff was proud to follow the tradition of both his father and brother and become part of his family's distinguished heritage of Air Force officers.

Jeff excelled in everything he set out to accomplish. He was an expert skier, both on snow and water, and an avid hunter and skeet shooter. Jeff was also a member of the highly-talented Air Force Academy sky diving team, the Wings of Blue. He was also a member of the Association of Graduates. Most of all, Jeff's love and devotion for his wife, Cheryl, was never-ending. She was Jeff's motivation and inspiration for his continued success through life.



Jeff knew of the possible danger he might face while being deployed in Operation Desert Storm. He never once doubted his abilities and continually upheld his responsibilities to his family and country. Jeff's death has left emptiness in all our lives, especially those of Cheryl and his family. It was an honor to be one of Jeff's friends. Jeff Olson was a true American and he will be greatly missed. (Capt. G. Scott Campbell, '86, 99 AREFS, Robins AFB, Ga.)


Jeffry Jon Olson \endash ND (27) Gulf War

Captain, United States Air Force

Duty: Radar Navigator

United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), Class of 1985

Birth: 1963-04-05 \emdash Mountain Home AFB, Idaho // Died at 27on 1991-02-03

Place of Death: Indian Ocean, off the coast of Diego Garcia

Cause of Death: Killed, Non Hostile: Plane crash

Home of Record State: North Dakota



Son of Dr. Jean A. (née Lierbo) and Lieutenant Colonel Norris O. Olson. Younger brother of Marc Norris Olson. Norris served in Vietnam out of Clark Air Base, Philippines and Danang, Vietnam, 1965-1967. His father (class of 1959) and his brother (class of 1983) were also both graduates of the United States Air Force Academy. Jeffry was raised mainly in Grand Forks, North Dakota with his family, which also included younger sister Tara Lynn.

Jeffry graduated from Red River High School in Grand Forks in 1981, the USAFA, Colorado Springs, in 1986, and earned a Master's degree in operations management in 1989 from the University of Arkansas.

He married Cheryl S. Bono in Blytheville, Arkansas, on 11 January 1989. Blytheville was the home of one of Jeffry's station stops, Eaker Air Force Base.

Jeffry died when his B-52G, tail number 59-2593, suffered a catastrophic electrical system failure. The crew had just flown a sortie to Iraq as part of Desert Storm and was returning to base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The six crew members ejected at a low altitude and three of them either died on impact with the water or drowned.

Posthumous recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal and National Defense Medal.

[http://winnerofthelosers.com/remembering-a-b-52g-aircrew-from-eaker-afb-blytheville-arkansas-on-veterans-day/]

• Reference: P.O.W. Network - GULF WAR POW/MIA. OLSON, JON JEFFREY
Name: Jon Jeffrey Olson
Rank/Branch: Captin/US Air Force
Unit: 97th Bombardment Wing
Age: 27
Home City of Record: Blytheville AR
Date of Loss: 03 February 1991
Country of Loss: Indian Ocean
Loss Coordinates:
Status: Killed/Body Not Recovered
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: B52
Other Personnel in Incident: Jorge I. Arteaga (missing); Eric D. Hedeen
(remains recovered)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 09 March 1991 from one or more of
the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence
with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Copyright 1991
Homecoming II Project.

REMARKS: OPERATION DESERT SHIELD

SYNOPSIS: The Boeing B52 Stratofortress first saw combat action in Vietnam in 1965. The numerous B52 missions in Southeast Asia, code-named Arc Light, were considered a vital part of the air war. The external and internal bomb load of the aircraft (roughly 75,000 pounds combined) made the bomber a formidable war plane which could be highly destructive, yet also capable of extreme precision. Seventeen of the aircraft were lost to enemy fire in Southeast Asia, and twelve from other causes.

In 1991, hostilities in the Middle East again called the B52 into action. On February 3, a B52 crashed about 2,500 miles east of Saudi Arabia over the Indian Ocean. The aircraft, carrying six crew members, was returning to Diego Garcia Air Base from a mission over Iraq. The crew was from the 97th Bombardment Wing on temporary duty assignment from Eaker Air Force Base. Three crew members were rescued from the water, but three - Arteaga, Hedeen and Olson - remained missing. The aircraft was returning from a night of the most intense bombing for Air Force B-52s to date in the war. There was no indication that the aircraft had been damaged in battle, and mechanical difficulties were blamed for the crash.

Some time later, Eric Hedeen's body was found in an inflated life raft and recovered. He was buried with full military honors on February 12 in Wenatcheee, Washington. Hedeen had been the electronics warfare officer onboar the aircraft.

Jon J. Olson was the navigator of the aircraft. His father, retired LtCol. Norris Olson of Fargo, North Dakota, and his brother, Marc Olson of Minot Air Force Base, are both B52 pilots.

Jorge I. Arteaga's father is a United Nations liaison to Bolivia. Artiega had been married less than 24 hours before shipping out to the Middle East. As of May 1997, Jon Olson is still listed as Missing in Action.

[http://www.pownetwork.org/gulf/od059.htm]

Jeffry married Living