Peter George Olenchuk


Peter George Olenchuk was a Major General in the United States Army.

Biography

Originally a native of Bayonne, New Jersey, Olenchuk would graduate from Lebanon Valley College before obtaining a M.D. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a M.B.A. in Business Administration from George Washington University. He would marry Ruth Clement and have three children. On 9 August 1970 his daughter Mary C. Olenchuk born November 18, 1956 disappeared from Ogunquit, Maine. On 22 August 1970 her strangled body was discovered hidden under a pile of leaves in an abandoned barn 9 miles away in Kennebunkport, Maine. It remains one of Maine's oldest unsolved murders. Olenchuk died on October 6, 2000 in Ogunquit, Maine. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Career

Olenchuk oversaw the controversial Operation CHASE during the 1960s. In 1973 he became Director of Material Acquisition of the Army. Later he became Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development, and Acquisition. He retired in 1975.
Awards he received include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Air Medal, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal.