A Palmerton native chose to follow in his older brother’s footsteps and serve in the military.

Along the way, Chris Olivia witnessed firsthand the personal sacrifice it takes while serving our country during the Vietnam War.

A graduate of Palmerton High School, Class of 1966, Olivia explained that his brother, Thomas, was a Marine.

“You always want to be like your big brother,” Olivia said. “That’s one of the reasons that led to the Marine Corps.”

One week after graduation, Olivia and four of his fellow graduates began their service to our country as Marines.

“It was scary; it was the first time I was away from home,” he said. “You adjust fast.”

A lifelong resident of Palmerton, Olivia said having his friends with him on the journey made things more comforting.

“It always helped that my four buddies were there with me at Paris Island,” he said. “I would see them every day; that helped me get through the hardest part.”

After boot camp at Paris Island, training at Camp Lejeune and Camp Pendleton, Olivia boarded a troop carrier to Vietnam in December 1966.

“The Marine Corp was training us for Vietnam; we knew we were going,” he said, adding that Operation Union (from April 21 to May 16, 1967), a violent Vietnam War search-and-destroy mission in the Que Son Valley, resulted in 110 U.S. Marine deaths, two missing, and 473 wounded, “He wasn’t with me, but a neighbor of mine a half a block away on Lehigh Avenue in Palmerton, Tony Garcia, was wounded in both legs and the arm in that battle.

“They medevaced him to the ship that took care of all the wounded soldiers,” Olivia said. “He made it; everything is fine.”

Olivia said Garcia, who now lives in the state of Washington, several years ago came to visit his sister who lives in Palmerton, and they were able to talk.

For a year, Olivia was deployed to the Quang Tri Province near the 17th parallel separating North and South Vietnam, where he served as a rifleman and radio man for his company.

Olivia arrived back in the United States in January 1968 and was assigned to Quantico in Virginia, where he was detailed to train the lieutenants and captains who were on their way to Vietnam, until his discharge in June 1968.

Shortly after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Olivia said they took many of the Marines to Washington, D.C., and stationed them on all the corners of the streets in the event there would be riots.

Olivia reflected on what he learned most during his two years serving our country.

“It teaches you to be a hard person, a tough person,” he said. “One who appreciates life because I saw a lot of guys that didn’t make it.”

Olivia said he gained a deep admiration for his country.

“I appreciated the service, the Marine Corps, I appreciated my country,” he said. “I was glad to fight for my country.”

Olivia noted that his grandparents were Ukrainian immigrants, and that his father was born in Palmerton.

“Our country has been good to me and my family,” he said. “I appreciated everything.”

Olivia said if he had the chance, he would “absolutely” serve our country all over again.

He said anyone contemplating joining the military should definitely look to serve to help their country.

“Whether it be in the service or some other form would be great,” he said. “Not all people are made for the service, but everyone can serve their country in their own way.”

Olivia married his wife, Susan, in July 1968.

He worked at the Palmerton Post Office and served as a letter carrier for 33 years.

Olivia has and continues to remain active in his community.

He previously served on the Palmerton Shade Tree Commission, served as zoning officer, was a borough councilman for 10 years and was borough mayor for 10 years.

Olivia was named Mayor of the Year by the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce in 2016. After earning that distinction, he donated the $1,000 he received to the Palmerton Police Department.

In 2020, he resigned as mayor due to his daughter Kristin’s fight against leukemia. Sadly, Kristin died of the disease in July 2020.

Chris and Susan enjoy their time spent with their two grandsons, Aaron and Luke Fromal.

Olivia serves on the borough’s zoning hearing and vacancy boards and is a member of the Palmerton United Veterans Organization.