Captain Garvis Pollard, Jr.

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Captain Garvis Pollard, Jr. of the U.S. Army!   "It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters." For much of his life, Garvis Pollard, Jr., had no choice but to abide by that tenet of Stoicism. In fact, living that motto began very early for Garvis. Born in 1944, he entered a world ravaged by World War II, and his first full year of life would coincide with what would ultimately be the deadliest year in that global conflict. While too young to realize it at the time, the Second World War and its far-reaching consequences would shape much of his future. Though his father and grandfathers never served, Garvis made a conscious decision to answer the call as the Vietnam War was ramping up. That choice, however, led to another event he couldn't control. In the fall of 1967, a fresh-faced Lieutenant Pollard arrived in Saigon only a few months before the start of the Tet Offensive. By the end of 1968, no other year would result in as many casualties, due primarily to that controversial military campaign. Despite being raised on a secluded farm in Arkansas, CPT Pollard seemingly couldn't escape the history happening around him, whether it was his father's recollections of managing a POW camp full of Nazi soldiers or the personal proximity to the societal aftershocks caused by the Little Rock Nine. Garvis credits events like those for his lifelong love of history and his relentless reckoning with it. He offers a clear-eyed and candid take on his eighteen months of service in Vietnam and the war as a whole. It is no surprise, then, that nowadays CPT Pollard spends his time teaching visitors to our museum the importance of understanding our history, what our forefathers did in the face of adversity, and how we can harness the power to do the same.   (00:00) Disclaimer (01:19) Opening Theme (01:48) Introduction (32:55) Fort Devens & Other East Coast Adventures (44:33) Vietnam (1:00:01) Dissecting the War (1:14:26) Welcome Home (1:17:22) Forts Holabird & Huachuca (1:25:18) Life After the Army (1:32:06) Closing (1:40:18) Remembrance Gala Ad