lest we forget

ROLLINS, WILLIAM PAUL

Rank / Branch:

  • WARRANT OFFICER ONE, U.S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

  • 1948-07-27

Country Of Loss:

  • SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

  • HOSTILE, CRASH HELICOPTER

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:​

  • UH-1C HELICOPTER

Other:

  • MARRIED

Unit:

  • 11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT

Date Of Loss:

  • 1968-09-29

Loss Coordinates:

  • LONG KHANH

Catagory:

  • BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

  • SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

  • RUSSELL WILLIAM ROLLINS, WARRANT OFFICER ONE, U.S. ARMY, SNYDER, SCURRY, TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

  • ARMY AVIATOR WINGS, DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS, BRONZE STAR, PURPLE HEART, AIR MEDAL WITH 5 OAK LEAF CLUSTSERS, GOOD CONDUT MEDAL, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL

BIOGRAPHY

  • William Paul Rollins was born in Snyder, Texas the son of Doris June Hight Rollins and Elza Alvin Rollins. He was joined by a younger brother Mark born in 1955. He preferred to use his middle name of Paul. He attended Snyder schools and graduated from Snyder High School with the Class of 1966. According to his mother, he had been involved in a car accident when he was in high school, and he had a rod in his leg, and he would limp when he was fatigued.
  • After high school, he attended Howard County Junior College in Big Spring. His mother indicated he came home one day and stated he was joining the Army to help pay for his education. Everyone was surprised that he could pass the physical with his leg, but he did. He joined the U. S. Army and was accepted in the Warrant Officer Helicopter Flight Training Program in the early spring of 1967. He completed basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana and then started flight training at Fort Wolters, Texas near Mineral Wells, Texas as a member of the 6th Warrant Officer Candidate Company, Class 67-25 B-3.
  • After his primary flight training, he completed the advanced course at Fort Rucker, Alabama with the Class 68-1 in February 1968 and was commissioned a Warrant Officer One. Mr. Rollins married Joan McKinley, his high school sweetheart when he came home for leave before flight school began.
  • He started his tour in Vietnam on April 24, 1968, and was assigned as a helicopter pilot with the 11th Armored Cavalry regiment. On September 29, 1968, he was the co-pilot on a UH-1C Huey that was performing aerial reconnaissance for a ground armored unit when the helicopter was struck repeatedly by small arms ground fire. The helicopter crashed and killed all on board, which included the aircraft commander, WO1 Rollins, the crew chief and the gunner.
  • Mr. Rollins was buried with full military honors in the Hillside Memorial Gardens Cemetery in his hometown of Snyder, Texas. He was awarded a posthumous Bronze Star for meritorious service and a Purple Heart. He was survived by his wife, his parents and his younger brother Mark.
  • His wife remarried and now lives in New Caney, Texas. His father passed away in 1997 and his mother passed away in 2009. His brother passed away in Mullin, Texas in 2013.
  • SNYDER HIGH SCHOOL, CLASS OF 1965
  • WARRANT OFFICER FLIGHT CLASS AT FORT WOLTERS, TEXAS 1967
  • ROLLING HILLS CEMETERY, SNYDER, TEXAS