Decades later, Hollingsworth became seriously ill. Cox visited him during what would be their last meeting.
During that visit, Hollingsworth asked his friend to stand guard beside his casket when the time came.
Cox agreed.
This second promise was connected to the first by the friendship behind it, but it was made under very different circumstances. It was not a battlefield pact between young servicemen fearing an imminent attack. It was a final request between elderly friends confronting death after a lifetime of staying in touch.
When Hollingsworth died in 2017, Cox honored the request.
At 83, Cox normally needed a cane for stability. For the funeral, he put the cane aside, wore his Marine dress blues and stood beside his friend’s casket.
He also delivered a eulogy.
Contemporary accounts record his farewell in traditional language meaningful to the two Marines: Hollingsworth would “keep ’em flying,” while Cox would “keep ’em firing.”
The moment captured in the photograph was therefore not staged for social media. It was an actual act of mourning and military fellowship.
Why the Viral Wording Is Misleading
The phrase “honoring a promise they made 50 years ago” suggests that the two men agreed in Vietnam that whichever one lived longer would stand beside the other’s coffin.
That is not what the best available reporting says.
The timeline is:
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1968: Cox and Hollingsworth promised to contact each other every New Year if they survived Vietnam.
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For nearly five decades: They maintained their annual contact and friendship.
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During Hollingsworth’s final illness: He asked Cox to stand guard at his funeral.
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2017: Cox fulfilled that final request.
The viral version collapses the first and second promises into one.
This is a common pattern in inspirational storytelling. A real event is simplified until its emotional structure becomes perfect: two young warriors make a solemn pledge, survive for half a century and finally complete the pledge at a casket.
The authentic version is less symmetrical but arguably more meaningful. Their friendship did not depend on one dramatic promise frozen in 1968. It continued to generate acts of loyalty throughout their lives.
Was Cox Really 83?
Yes.
Reports published at the time identified Cox as 83 years old. They also noted that he normally walked with a cane but stood without it during the service.
These details are not inventions added by later social media pages.
They help explain why the photograph affected so many viewers. Cox was no longer a young active-duty Marine standing an assigned watch. His age and physical limitations made the act voluntary, difficult and deeply personal.
The absence of the cane should not be interpreted as evidence that he no longer needed it. It was a ceremonial decision for a limited period, made as a gesture of respect.
Some retellings say he stood “for hours.” Reports differ in the way they describe the duration, so the safer formulation is that he stood guard during the funeral service rather than claiming an exact number of hours without a direct source.