Biography

Cadet Chester A. Olsen was born in Providence, Rhode Island on 23 June 1894.  He was the son of Harold Olsen and Mary E. Staples. He entered Rhode Island State College (RISC) in September 1914 with the class of 1918. Chester majored in Engineering.  He was active in Theta Chi and participated in the Army ROTC Program while a student.

When the United States entered World War I, there were 562 male students enrolled at Rhode Island State College; 334 left to serve in WW I. Chester, like so many of his classmates, departed college before he graduated and enlisted in the Rhode Island National Guard.  He enlisted as a Private in the Coast Artillery and became a Cadet Candidate in the US Army Reserve Officer Training Program at Plattsburg Barracks in Plattsburg, New York. While performing his duties, he became ill with the Spanish Influenza and was hospitalized.  Cadet Chester A. Olsen died from pneumonia on 4 July 1917.

A military funeral was held in July 1917 at Pocasset Cemetery, Cranston, Rhode Island.  Cadet Chester A. Olsen, US Army, answered the call to serve his nation with courage and honor during World War I.