What started out as a temporary thing ended Friday with a retirement celebration.

Command Sgt. Maj. Harry L. Collins has served with the U.S. Army for 35 years, most recently with the Vicksburg-based U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 579th Engineer Detachment.

“You epitomize what’s best in America,” Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh, commander of the Mississippi Valley Division, said during a ceremony at the Corps’ Vicksburg District in East Clay Street. “You and your family have carried a heavy burden on a hard road for 35 years. It’s not easy. You have led by example in caring for our soldiers, civilians and families — and I thank you for that.”

Collins, a native of Scooba, has served with the 579th for three years. He recently completed a year-long tour in Afghanistan as the senior enlisted adviser for the 579th.

Collins recalls the moment he knew he wanted to join the military.

“My brother Clifford and I were at this country store — that was in 1964 — and the National Guard actually drove up with all these trucks and weapons in uniforms, and I was kind of blown away by that,” he said. “That image stayed in my mind, I guess, through all my childhood. I knew then that I would be a soldier.”

Collins joined the Army in August of 1976, at 20 years old.

“When I enlisted, I had no intention of staying for 35 years,” he said. “My plan was to do all six active and get out. Now, 35 years later, I’m still here.”

On Friday, Collins received the Legion of Merit and the Army Engineer Association’s Silver Order of the de Fleury Medal.

He and his wife, Deborah, a retired chief warrant officer, plan to move to Huntsville, Ala., where Collins aims to complete his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and work with disabled veterans.

The Collinses have five children, Marquice Collins, 36, of Scooba; Erick Collins, 34, of Jackson; Derrick Slaughter, 32, of Anchorage, Alaska; Rodney Collins, 29, of Jackson; and Whitney Collins, 25, of Scooba; and two grandchildren.

The 579th provides support to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.