Retired Navy Vet Philip Olson Memorial Fund
Donation protected
Goodbye Phil Olson - Our Sailor
My brother was born in 1959. For as long as I can remember he was always, drawn to the outdoors. We hunted and fished together many times. He also enjoyed bird hunting, when we had a dog, and fishing, whether it was in the river that ran by our home in Milaca, where he also ran a trap line in the fall catching mostly muskrats. Most of his fishing was on Mille Lacs Lake. We fished a lot together usually with our father, trying to catch walleyes and perch.
Phil floated from odd job to odd job after high school, never quite finding his niche. Until he joined the Navy in 1990 and was discharged in 1994. He did his basic training at Great Lakes in Illinois. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He first tried to enlist in the Air Force. However, as was his luck, he injured his ankle prior to shipping out the following morning. His injury required surgery so the Air Force declined his service. When he healed, He decided to join the Navy. To this day I'm not sure why he chose the Navy. Like millions of others, our father joined the Army Air Corp on December 8th, 1941 right after Pearl Harbor was attacked. We had two uncles that were in the Army and were in the Pacific theater during WW11. Although we did have one uncle that served on the U.S.S. Miami during the war.
After his basic training, he was sent to Pearl Harbor. He loved the weather and occasionally found the time and money to play a little golf. He was stationed on board the U.S.S. Reuben James. He was trained to maintain the engines, turbines and aside from the mess and noise, seemed to enjoy his assignment. It was aboard the Reuben James where he suffered hearing loss and managed to have a couple of hernias. Phil enjoyed his time in the Navy and was always very proud to have served. He saw much of the world, including the Persian Gulf and Australia, not to mention many island nations in the Pacific. His only complaint was the food. He would eat at the Air Force mess hall whenever he could claiming they had much better chow.
After he mustered out of the Navy, my brother drifted a bit and I think he secretly wished he had stayed for another stretch. If nothing else, he wouldn’t have been suffering thru Minnesota winters. He eventually started working as a prison guard, first in the state system based in Moose Lake then later with Mille Lacs County Corrections. Also, it wasn't long after being out of the Navy that his health started to deteriorate. He had multiple surgeries, including one on his shoulder, one on his neck, and eventually problems with his heart started to appear. Eventually, he was given a relatively small stipend from the VA and Social Security as a disability. It paid his truck payment and insurance but not much else.
My brother eventually had a double by-pass, a pacemaker/defibrillator installed, approximately 13 stints installed in his heart, and a total of 6 heart attacks. I drove him to and from the Onamia hospital, the St. Cloud hospital, and the VA medical center in Minneapolis so many times I’ve lost count. In 2020 I probably drove him to and from one hospital or another at least a dozen times. He always came home, except this last time.
His early retirement wasn’t much of a retirement to say the least. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to save much money to take care of his bills that remain. He was still dealing with some hospital bills that the VA was not willing to pay. He also left nothing for his burial expenses or his living expenses which amounted to at least several thousand at the time of his death.
My siblings and I are trying to take care of what we can, but these are needless to say lean times. As brothers often do, we had our share of battles. But in the end, he was my brother, the only one I will ever have. The least I could do is hold his hand as he was dying and tell him that I'd miss him, even if he couldn't actually hear me. Any leftover proceeds will be donated to a local veteran's organization. Thank you in advance for helping us provide our brother with a respectful last gesture.
My brother was born in 1959. For as long as I can remember he was always, drawn to the outdoors. We hunted and fished together many times. He also enjoyed bird hunting, when we had a dog, and fishing, whether it was in the river that ran by our home in Milaca, where he also ran a trap line in the fall catching mostly muskrats. Most of his fishing was on Mille Lacs Lake. We fished a lot together usually with our father, trying to catch walleyes and perch.
Phil floated from odd job to odd job after high school, never quite finding his niche. Until he joined the Navy in 1990 and was discharged in 1994. He did his basic training at Great Lakes in Illinois. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He first tried to enlist in the Air Force. However, as was his luck, he injured his ankle prior to shipping out the following morning. His injury required surgery so the Air Force declined his service. When he healed, He decided to join the Navy. To this day I'm not sure why he chose the Navy. Like millions of others, our father joined the Army Air Corp on December 8th, 1941 right after Pearl Harbor was attacked. We had two uncles that were in the Army and were in the Pacific theater during WW11. Although we did have one uncle that served on the U.S.S. Miami during the war.
After his basic training, he was sent to Pearl Harbor. He loved the weather and occasionally found the time and money to play a little golf. He was stationed on board the U.S.S. Reuben James. He was trained to maintain the engines, turbines and aside from the mess and noise, seemed to enjoy his assignment. It was aboard the Reuben James where he suffered hearing loss and managed to have a couple of hernias. Phil enjoyed his time in the Navy and was always very proud to have served. He saw much of the world, including the Persian Gulf and Australia, not to mention many island nations in the Pacific. His only complaint was the food. He would eat at the Air Force mess hall whenever he could claiming they had much better chow.
After he mustered out of the Navy, my brother drifted a bit and I think he secretly wished he had stayed for another stretch. If nothing else, he wouldn’t have been suffering thru Minnesota winters. He eventually started working as a prison guard, first in the state system based in Moose Lake then later with Mille Lacs County Corrections. Also, it wasn't long after being out of the Navy that his health started to deteriorate. He had multiple surgeries, including one on his shoulder, one on his neck, and eventually problems with his heart started to appear. Eventually, he was given a relatively small stipend from the VA and Social Security as a disability. It paid his truck payment and insurance but not much else.
My brother eventually had a double by-pass, a pacemaker/defibrillator installed, approximately 13 stints installed in his heart, and a total of 6 heart attacks. I drove him to and from the Onamia hospital, the St. Cloud hospital, and the VA medical center in Minneapolis so many times I’ve lost count. In 2020 I probably drove him to and from one hospital or another at least a dozen times. He always came home, except this last time.
His early retirement wasn’t much of a retirement to say the least. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to save much money to take care of his bills that remain. He was still dealing with some hospital bills that the VA was not willing to pay. He also left nothing for his burial expenses or his living expenses which amounted to at least several thousand at the time of his death.
My siblings and I are trying to take care of what we can, but these are needless to say lean times. As brothers often do, we had our share of battles. But in the end, he was my brother, the only one I will ever have. The least I could do is hold his hand as he was dying and tell him that I'd miss him, even if he couldn't actually hear me. Any leftover proceeds will be donated to a local veteran's organization. Thank you in advance for helping us provide our brother with a respectful last gesture.
Organizer and beneficiary
Bob Willey
Organizer
St. Michael, MN
David Olson
Beneficiary
Raised $300 from 2 donations
