[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 12, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H4436-H4437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING LUTHER EUGENE ROLLINS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Norman) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Luther 
Eugene Rollins. Gene, as he was better known, was the son of Mr. and 
Mrs. James F. Rollins of Greer, South Carolina.
  Gene, like many Americans, wanted to serve his country, and he joined 
the Army during the Vietnam war and was assigned to Company A in the 
6th Battalion Infantry in the 9th Division.
  The commander of his battalion was Captain Vernon Green, who quickly 
became his lifelong friend. Gene's unit was known as the Polecats or 
Bearcats and, in March of 1968, was assigned to the advance party in 
Southeast Asia.

                              {time}  1015

  While serving in combat on the front lines, he quickly became known 
as the ``preacher'' because of his daily reading of the Bible and 
dedicated prayer life. During an attack on his battalion, Gene was 
asked to lead his men in prayer, which he did on numerous occasions. 
Gene credits his many prayers to God as the reason for his survival 
during an attack when his M60 machine gun jammed and he was unable to 
return fire to the enemy.
  Gene became a radio operator during his service in Vietnam, attaining 
the rank of platoon sergeant. When his best friend, Captain Green was 
promoted to the battalion staff, Gene was invited to join him. He 
declined to do

[[Page H4437]]

so saying, ``I want to stay with my men.'' As he later told members of 
his hometown church, his service in the Vietnam war was a ``missionary 
journey'' where he was doing what God wanted him to do. For Sergeant 
Rollins' heroic efforts, he was awarded the Bronze Star and two Purple 
Hearts.
  After the war, he returned to Rock Hill, South Carolina, where he 
married his wife, Brenda Faye, and had three children, a son, Wendell, 
and two daughters, Tabatha and Tonya. He worked as a machinist for 
several years until joining Duke Energy in June of 1973 where he was an 
operator and coordinator for maintenance, working until March of 2016 
at the Catawba Nuclear Station in York County, South Carolina.
  Just as Gene Rollins had heeded the call of God during his service in 
Vietnam, he continued to serve his Lord by joining Woodhaven Baptist 
Church, where he served as Sunday school superintendent, finance 
committee member, and usher. Gene and his family united with their 
grandchildren by joining Calvary Baptist Church. And as said by Pastor 
Reggie Hopkins, ``We love having a man of God like Gene Rollins and his 
family'' in our church.
  He spends his time by continuing to serve his fellow man by cutting 
his neighbor's grass, giving rides to those who need medical care, and 
numerous other tasks that epitomize the saying ``to live is to serve.''
  Gene Rollins is a man who continues to serve his God, his country, 
his family, and, just as our Savior Jesus Christ did, his fellow man.
  May God continue to bless Gene Rollins for years to come.

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