The Veterans History Project (VHP) is an initiative by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Its aim is to collect, preserve, and make accessible the personal experiences of American war veterans. The initiative, which started in 2000, encourages individuals to interview veterans and submit their materials to the Library of Congress. These accounts cover a wide range of conflicts, from World War I to the present day, encompassing diverse perspectives and stories.
Recently, James N. Rollins, who was drafted into the US Army in 1967 at the young age of 19 and served with the 1st Infantry Division as a military police officer at Quan Loi, shared details of his war experience In a 45-minute narrative recorded for the Veterans History Project.
Just before enlisting in the Army, Rollins, who had proposed marriage to his high school sweetheart Varle Celestine Sewell, revealed in the documentary that fulfilling his promise to his lover was what kept him alive during the war. “One of the things that kept me going was getting engaged before I left,” he stated. “I had to have a finish line with hope waiting at the end of it. I did my 12 months in Vietnam.”
Rollins also shared that he maintained his commitment to return home to his lover, even when faced with the option to extend his military obligation in exchange for shortening the duration of his service.
The veteran further disclosed that his decision to move back home to his sweetheart was his saving grace, because soon after he departed from Vietnam, his camp was attacked, and almost everybody was killed. Rollins openly acknowledged that the memories of his fallen comrades, those who did not survive the warfront, continue to linger in his mind.
“I think about it to this day and still wish they were here, and we could talk about what we went through together,” he confessed. “I have reflected on that time, and it brings up all these feelings. I still deal with some anxiety and struggle from time to time. But I learned to develop ways to cope with it.”
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