Some promises survive long after the moment in which they were made.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!For retired Marine Master Sgt. William H. Cox and Marine First Sgt. James ‘Hollie’ Hollingsworth, a pact struck while facing the possibility of death in Vietnam ultimately became a commitment spanning half a century.
Their remarkable story was widely shared back in 2018, but eight years on, it remains a powerful example of a friendship forged under extraordinary circumstances, per Metro.
The two Marines first encountered each other in 1968 while sheltering from rockets and mortars inside a bunker in the Marble Mountains on New Year’s Eve.
At that point, they were strangers.
With neither knowing whether they would survive the fighting, they agreed that if they both made it home, they would contact each other every New Year’s Eve.
They survived – and kept their word.
For the next five decades, Cox and Hollingsworth remained in contact, turning a promise made during one terrifying night into an annual tradition.
Their connection went far beyond that bunker. Hollingsworth’s son later revealed the Marines had flown more than 200 missions on the same Huey during Vietnam.
Decades later, their friendship faced its most difficult moment.
Cox, then 83, travelled from his home in South Carolina to Georgia to visit Hollingsworth, who was 80 and dying.
During that meeting, Hollingsworth gave his old friend one final assignment: he wanted Cox to stand guard over his coffin and deliver the eulogy at his funeral.
Cox told Greenville Online: ‘I said, “Boy, that’s a rough mission you’re assigning me to there”.’
Hollingsworth’s son photographed the pair during their final reunion and later wrote on Facebook: ‘Two great Marines were reunited once again. These two flew over 200 missions on the same Huey in Vietnam.
‘I have always been proud of my father and his service to our Country. Love hearing the stories from his closest friend.’
Before leaving his friend for the final time, Cox told him: ‘Hollie, you keep ’em flying, and I’ll keep ’em firing.’
Months later, Hollingsworth died.
And once again, Cox kept his promise.
For the October 20 funeral, the 83-year-old put on his Marine dress blues and stood vigil beside his friend’s coffin.
Cox’s son Bill shared an image of the moment, writing: ‘My 83 year old father, Master Sergeant William H.Cox, USMC, Retired, honoring one of his Vietnam brothers, First Sergeant James J. Hollingsworth (Hollie).
‘They made a pact to stay in touch, if they survived their tour, and they did. Both were door gunners, and dad was the only enlisted man in VMO-2 to be awarded the DFC in Vietnam.
‘He has to use a cane most of the time now, but he insisted on not using it during his vigil at the casket and at the funeral.’
What began as an agreement between two strangers trying to survive New Year’s Eve in 1968 became a friendship measured in decades.
And when one final promise had to be honoured, Cox was there – standing watch over his fellow Marine one last time.
Featured image credit: Bill Cox / Facebook
