Menu
  • Abous us
  • Search database
  • Resources
  • Donate
  • Faq

Teague Olin Earl

Name:
Olin Earl  Teague
Rank:
Colonel
Serial Number:
Unit:
314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division
Date of Death:
1981-01-23
State:
Texas
Cemetery:
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia
Plot:
Section 30, Lot 434-LH
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Silver Star; Purple Heart
Comments:

Commander of the 314th Infantry Regiment in WW2; US Congressman. A member of the Democratic Party and a highly decorated World War II veteran, he served in the US House of Representatives from Texas's 6th district from August 1946 until December 1978. Raised in Mena, Arkansas, attended high school there and attended the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas Agricultural & Mechanical (A&M) University) at College Station, Texas, graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in 1932. He then began working at the College Station post office. In 1939 he joined the Texas National Guard and in October 1940 he joined the US Army as a 2nd lieutenant and saw combat action as a member of the 1st Battalion, 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Division, in Europe during World War II, participating in the Normandy (D-Day) Invasion of France on June 6, 1944. He was wounded six times during his combat experience and spent two years recuperating in various US Army hospitals. At the time of his discharge in 1946, he had achieved the rank of colonel and had been awarded the Silver Star (with two oak leaf clusters), the Bronze Star (with two oak leaf clusters), the Purple Heart (with two oak leaf clusters), the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, the French Croix de Guerre, and the French Fourragère. Shortly after returning to Texas, he won a special congressional election to fill the seat vacated by Luther A. Johnson and was re-elected for 15 additional consecutive terms. During his tenure, he was a champion of military veteran's issues, authoring the Korean War Veterans Act in 1950 and serving as Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs from 1955 until 1972 and as the second ranking Democrat on the committee from 1973 until 1978. From 1973 until 1978 he chaired the House Science Committee and in 1976 he was instrumental in establishing the Office of Science and Technology Policy. In December 1978 he retired from Congress due to poor health and was succeeded by Phil Gramm. During his time in Congress, he received a number of achievement awards, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars Congressional Award (1969), the American Legion's Distinguished Service Medal (1970), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration public service medal (1978), and the Texas A&M Distinguished Alumnus Award (1978) and its Olin A Teague Research Center was named in his honor. In 1980 the Veterans Administration Hospital in Temple, Texas was named the Olin E. Teague Veterans Center in his honor. He died as a result of a heart attack and kidney failure at the age of 70. Source: Find A Grave