Wheelchair Bound Vietnam Veterans Gone Fishing

Off-road wheelchair with gun rack allows Vietnam vet to hunt and fish again
ABC
By Robert Richardson
Updated: Feb 17, 2015

CALHOUN COUNTY, Ala. - After two decades of putting other veterans first, a Vietnam veteran in Calhoun County got a surprise from an unexpected source.

Ken Rollins received an all-terrain wheelchair Monday from the Birmingham-based non-profit Support Our Soldiers. It has tank tracks instead of wheels, and unlike his regular electric wheelchair, it does not need pavement to work outside.

"I've always been on the giving end, and so for somebody to do this, wow," Rollins said.

"I get a lot more out of doing than I put in it. It's a blessing you get when you're able to help somebody by making a phone call or something like that."

Rollins was in the Army during the 1960s, and served two tours of Vietnam. He said exposure to Agent Orange resulted in peripheral neuropathy, which makes it hard for him to walk.

After his retirement from the military, he worked in the music industry for a few years before coming to Calhoun County to take a job at the Anniston Army Depot. Rollins then became a veterans advocate and serves on the state board of Veterans Affairs.

"Veterans in need seem to come to me. This was a blessing out of the sky," he said about getting the wheelchair built for outdoor activities.

"All of a sudden I get a phone call and it's from a fellow over at the VA hospital in Birmingham who had helped me with my power chair. He told me this foundation possibly had some track chairs available."
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