AUSTIN, Texas— Today, Texas Land Commissioner and Veterans Land Board (VLB) Chairwoman Dawn Buckingham, M.D., is proud to introduce the next installment of the series highlighting the VLB's Voices of Veterans oral history program. This week, we highlight the service of Specialist (SPC) Charles Holloway who served in the United States Army.
Born in Bastrop, Texas, Holloway said he followed in the footsteps of his brothers and joined the Army in 1975 because it was the right thing to do for his country.
"All three of my other brothers served and so I volunteered, I just felt that it was my duty to go in and volunteer and spend some time in the service, and so I did," Holloway explained.
Holloway attended basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri where he was trained to use an AR-15 and grenades. Holloway trained to become a Unit Clerk 75 Bravo, which is an Administrative role. Following his training, Holloway said he was sent to Fort Carson, Colorado. "When I first got there it snowed all week, and it was a big change."
He said he was impressed with his experience in the Army as a whole, mentioning that the first time he was on an airplane was when he was headed to Germany on a training mission for Vietnam.
"We were flying out of Lackland or somewhere and we stopped off in Alaska for fuel before we continued on to Mannheim, Germany and that was the first time I was ever on a plane and it was like a 12-hour trip," he said. "It was a real smooth trip being on the plane. We had about 100 men at the top and we had tanks and jeeps at the bottom."
Holloway wouldn't make it to Vietnam though, as the war had ended but wound up staying in Germany for the next six months for downrange training which consisted of war games where they would set up tents and tear them down within a couple of days as if they were in a real war.
Following his time in Germany, Holloway said he returned to Fort Carson, where he stayed until he left the Army in 1978. However, he remained in active reserve status and could be called back up at any time. After the service, Mr. Holloway worked in personnel and sales for Walmart and Montgomery Wards.
To listen to Specialist Charles Holloway tell his story, click the button below:
RELATED: Voices of Veterans: Lieutenant Ira Steele Shares His Story of Service in the U.S. Marine Corps
Veterans can email VoicesofVeterans@glo.texas.gov to tell their stories. Please note that the Veteran must be a resident of Texas at the time of their interview.
Voices of Veterans is a state agency's first Veteran oral history program. It records the stories of Texas Veterans through their time in service and after returning home from combat.
The VLB records interviews with Veterans over the phone or in person. Their interviews are then permanently archived in the Office of Veterans Records at the GLO, where they join the historical documents of other Texas heroes such as Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Barret Travis.
Veterans' interviews are also available to researchers, historians, genealogists, and the public. These precious records inspire future generations and remind us of our Veterans' sacrifices.
To listen to the over 500 archived stories of Veterans documented through the GLO's Voices of Veterans oral history program, click the button below:
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Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., brings a lifetime of experience to the Texas General Land Office (GLO). In 2016, she became the first Republican elected to the Texas State Senate from Travis County and the first woman to represent Texas Senate District 24. She made history again in 2022, winning a statewide election to become our state’s first female Land Commissioner.