Upon graduation he was commissioned a US Army reserve officer, and took a job in Houston before being called to active duty two months later.

[3] During this tour he was profiled by English journalist Nicholas Tomalin in his story The General Goes Zapping Charlie Cong, which was published in The Sunday Times on 5 June 1966.

[2] During an interview taped by CBS, Hollingsworth said that he would never entertain a proposal by the Red Cross that the two sides should declare a temporary cease-fire at An Loc to treat the wounded.

In each case it was clear that Hollingsworth considered himself the effective commander at An Lộc, even though a South Vietnamese officer was technically in charge.

Further, many of our soldiers wear defaced hats and jackets with unauthorized embroidered and stenciled symbols and sayings, pins, buttons, and other items that give them a hippie like appearance.

"[7]: 371–2 Hollingsworth served as commander U.S. Army Alaska until October 1971 when he was replaced by Major General Charles M. Gettys.

During his time in Korea Hollingsworth updated the existing operational plans for defense against a North Korean attack, OPLAN 5027, from a largely defensive strategy to a forward-based offensive strategy known as OPLAN 5027–74, in which after blunting the initial North Korean assault the US/ROK forces would seize Kaesong and then go on to capture Pyongyang.