Staff Sergeant Rollyson was a veteran of World War II. During the Korean War, he was the co-pilot of a C-47D Skytrain transport with the 123rd Maintenance Squadron, 123rd Fighter Bomber Wing stationed at Godman Air Force Base, Kentucky. On 8 April 1951, the aircraft was enroute from Godman to Kanawha County Airport, Charleston, West Virginia when it crashed about eight miles northeast of Kanawha Airport, killing all twenty one Air Force personnel aboard.

Rollyson was awarded the European, African, Middle Easter Campaign Medal, the American Theater Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.