J. Lawton Collins
Collins' elder brother, Major General
Early life and military career
Collins was born into the large
Collins was commissioned as a
Between the wars
Collins reverted to the rank of captain in 1920. He married Gladys Easterbrook, a daughter of Army chaplain
Collins graduated from the United States Army Industrial College in 1937, and the United States Army War College the following year.[8] He was then an instructor at the Army War College from 1938 to 1940. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on June 25, 1940[11] and, now a full colonel (having been promoted on January 15, 1941),[11] was chief of staff of VII Corps in 1941.[11][12]
World War II
By the time the United States entered
Pacific theater
Collins was chief of staff of the
It was during the campaign in Guadalcanal that Collins gained his nickname of "Lightning Joe", for his dash and aggression.[13][12] It was also during this campaign that saw Collins awarded with the Silver Star, the citation for which reads:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Major General Joseph Lawton Collins (ASN: 0-2274/0-5247), United States Army, for gallantry in action against the enemy while serving as Commanding General, 25th Infantry Division, in action on 11 January 1943 at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. To visit the command post of an infantry battalion of the Division commanded by him, General Collins walked through some 800 yards of recently captured ground infested with enemy snipers. Upon arriving on Hill 52, to gain better points of observation, he voluntarily exposed himself to intermittent rifle, machine gun and mortar fire, without regard for his own personal safety. From there, he located an enemy machine gun nest and personally assisted in placing mortar fire on it and on other areas likely to be occupied by the enemy, while bursts of enemy machine gun fire hit many times but three yards away. His calmness and fearlessness under fire was an inspiration to the officers and men of the infantry regiment in that sector. His example and words of praise and encouragement with which he continually encouraged the men in the forward units spurred them on and contributed materially to the success of the offensive operation. His gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.[15]
Western theater
Collins was later transferred to the
VII Corps played a major role in the
One of the few senior United States commanders to fight in both Europe and the Pacific, against the Germans and Japanese respectively, Collins contrasted the nature of the enemy in the two theaters of war:
The German was far more skilled than the Japanese. Most of the Japanese that we fought were not skilled men. Not skilled leaders. The German had a professional army... The Japanese.. didn't know how to handle combined arms – the artillery and the support of the infantry – to the same extent we did. They were gallant soldiers, though... They fought very, very hard, but they were not nearly as skillful as the Germans. But the German didn't have the tenacity of the Japanese.[20]
Collins was promoted to temporary
Postwar
After the war, Collins was deputy commanding general and chief of staff of
Collins was
Collins was representative of the United States to the Military Committee and the Standing Group of NATO from 1953 to 1954. He was special representative of the United States in Vietnam with ambassadorial rank, 1954 to 1955, and returned to his NATO assignment. He retired from active service in March 1956, after almost 40 years of military service.[22]
General Joseph Lawton Collins died in Washington, D.C., on September 12, 1987, at the age of 91.[22] He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
Awards
1st Row | Distinguished Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters |
Silver Star with oak leaf cluster | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2nd Row | Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters |
Bronze Star Medal with "V" device |
World War I Victory Medal | ||||||
3rd Row | Army of Occupation of Germany Medal | American Defense Service Medal | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two campaign stars | ||||||
4th Row | European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with five campaign stars |
World War II Victory Medal
|
Army of Occupation Medal | ||||||
5th Row | National Defense Service Medal | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom) |
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (France) | ||||||
6th Row | Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) |
Order of Suvorov, 2nd Class (USSR) |
Croix de Guerre with palm (France) |
Promotions
Insignia | Rank | Component | Date |
---|---|---|---|
No insignia | Cadet | United States Military Academy | June 14, 1913 |
No pin insignia at the time | Second lieutenant | Regular Army | April 20, 1917 |
First lieutenant | Regular Army | May 15, 1917 | |
Captain | Temporary | August 5, 1917 | |
Major | Temporary | September 9, 1918 | |
Captain | Regular Army | June 25, 1919 (Discharged as temporary major and resumed permanent rank of captain on March 10, 1920.) | |
Major | Regular Army | October 1, 1932 | |
Lieutenant colonel | Regular Army | June 25, 1940 | |
Colonel | Army of the United States | January 13, 1941 | |
Brigadier general | Army of the United States | February 14, 1942 | |
Major general | Army of the United States | May 26, 1942 | |
Lieutenant general | Army of the United States | April 16, 1945 | |
Brigadier general | Regular Army | June 19, 1945 | |
Major general | Regular Army | January 24, 1948 | |
General | Army of the United States | January 24, 1948 | |
General | Regular Army, Retired | March 31, 1956 |
References
- ^ a b c d "United States Army officer histories". Unit Histories. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
- ^ Video: Dragon's Teeth. U.S. Army Pictorial Service. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
- ^ Jeffers 2009, p. 13.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c https://digital-library.usma.edu/digital/collection/p16919coll3/id/17596 [bare URL]
- ^ Jeffers 2009, pp. 15–16.
- ISBN 9780810874619. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- ^ a b c Taaffe 2013, p. 171.
- ^ Jeffers 2009, p. 15.
- ^ Moore 2014, p. 12.
- ^ a b c d e "Biography of General James Lawton Collins (1896−1987), USA". generals.dk.
- ^ a b Taaffe 2013, p. 172.
- ^ a b c d "J. Lawton Collins, 1896–1987 (Lighting Joe)". HistoryOfWar.org.
- ^ Taaffe 2013, p. 153.
- ^ "Valor awards for Joseph Lawton Collins". Military Times.
- ^ Alan Axelrod, Bradley: A Biography, p. 115
- ^ Colin F. Baxter, Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1887–1976: A Selected Bibliography, p. 76
- ^ "The Mons Pocket, or the "Petit Stalingrad" of the Borinage". Europe Remembers. Liberation Route Europe Foundation. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ D-Day to Germany: Cameraman Jack Lieb comments on original footage of 1944-45 (Motion picture). Potsdam, Germany: CHRONOS-MEDIA History. December 10, 2016. Event occurs at 36:25. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ^ Maj. Gary Wade No. 5 Conversations with General J. Lawton Collins Archived 2015-06-10 at the Wayback Machine United States Army Command and General Staff College 1983
- ^ "Joseph Lawton Collins". The Hall of Valor Project.
- ^ a b c Taaffe 2013, p. 333.
Bibliography
- Joseph Lawton Collins (1969). War in Peacetime: The History and Lessons of Korea
- Taaffe, Stephen R. (2013). Marshall and His Generals: U.S. Army Commanders in World War II. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. OCLC 840162019.
- ISBN 0132036215.
- Jeffers, H. Paul (2009). Taking Command: General J. Lawton Collins From Guadalcanal to Utah Beach and Victory in Europe. ISBN 978-0451226877.
- Moore, Theo K. (2014). The Crux Of The Fight: General Joseph Lawton Collins' Command Style. BiblioScholar. ISBN 978-1249413592.
External links
- Joseph Lawton Collins biography Archived 2017-05-05 at the Wayback Machine in Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff a publication of the United States Army Center of Military History
- J. Lawton Collins Collection Finding Aids Archived 2017-03-29 at the Wayback Machine US Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
- Arlington National Cemetery Biography
- Conversations with General J. Lawton Collins, Combat Studies Institute report
- Papers of J. Lawton Collins, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
- Papers of John J. Walsh (Aide-de-Camp to J. Lawton Collins), Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
- A film clip AIR ASSAULT TACTICS ETC. (1945) is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
- Generals of World War II
- United States Army Officers 1939–1945