Serving in the military creates bonds that cannot be broken. The men and women that put their lives on the line for our freedom are true heroes, and deserve to be treated as such.
Retired Marine Master Sgt. William H. Cox and Retired Marine First Sgt. James ‘Hollie’ Hollingsworth both served in the Marines and fought during the Vietnam war. Though they were strangers when they first met, they ended the war as brothers.
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Cox and Hollingsworth fought side by side in the same bunker on Marble Mountain. On New Year’s Eve, bullets rained from the sky as they battled, and the two soldiers made a pact: if they survived the night, every New Year’s Eve they would contact each other to check in. They did survive, and for the next 50 years they kept their promise. It didn’t matter that they were thousands of miles away, a promise is a promise.
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Cox even made a trip to visit Hollingsworth in South Carolina when he was 83 years old. The two had faced death together, and now it was time to face it again. Hollingsworth knew his life was coming to an end, and he asked his military brother for one more favor.
Hollingsworth asked Cox to stand guard over his casket and deliver a eulogy when the time came.
“Boy, that’s a rough mission you’re assigning me to there,” Cox replied. But he knew he would have to do it. After all, the two had flown over 200 helicopter missions together. They even had their own motto: “Hollie, you keep ’em flying, and I’ll keep ’em firing.”
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Cox stood guard over Hollingsworth’s service, wearing his dress blues, and delivered a tear-jerking eulogy. He ended it the same way they ended all their flights.
“Hollie, you keep ’em flying, and I’ll keep ’em firing.”
Tribunist
Tribunist
Cox’s son posted the photos of his father on social media, and they’ve been going viral. People are touched by this story of real heroism and true friendship.
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