J. Lawton Collins

Joseph Lawton Collins
File:Joseph Lawton Collins.jpg General J. Lawton Collins
Nickname(s)	"Lightning Joe"
Born	(1896-05-01)May 1, 1896 New Orleans, Louisiana
Died	Washington, D.C.
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1917–1956
Rank	General
Commands held	3rd Battalion 22nd Infantry 25th Infantry Division VII Corps Chief of Staff of the US Army
Battles/wars	World War II Guadalcanal Campaign Invasion of Normandy Operation Cobra
Awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Legion of Merit Bronze Star

Joseph "Lightning Joe" Lawton Collins (May 1, 1896 – September 12, 1987) was Army Chief of Staff during the Korean War. During World War II, he was an Army general, serving in both the Pacific and European Theaters of Operations.

His elder brother, James Lawton Collins, was also in the Army as a major general. His nephew, Michael Collins, was the command module pilot on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 that put the first two men on the Moon and would retire as a major general from the Air Force.

Early career

Collins was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, into a large Irish Catholic family. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1917; was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the 22nd Infantry, April 1917; was promoted to first lieutenant, May 1917, and temporary captain, August 1917. He attended the Infantry School of Arms at Fort Sill and served with his regiment at various locations, 1917–1919. Collins was promoted to captain, June 1918, and to temporary major, September 1918; commanded the 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry, in France, 1919, and was assistant chief of staff, G-3, of American Forces in Germany, 1920–1921.

During this time Collins served in the Army of Occupation with the Philippine Scouts in Germany.

Advancement

Collins married Gladys Easterbrook, 1921; reverted to captain, 1920; was instructor in the department of chemistry at West Point, 1921–1925; graduated from the company officer course at the Infantry School, Fort Benning, 1926, and from the advanced course at the Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, 1927. He was an instructor in weapons and tactics at the Infantry School, 1927–1931; was promoted to major, August 1932; was executive officer of the 23rd Brigade, Manila, and assistant chief of staff, G-2, Philippine Division, 1933–1934.

He graduated from the Army Industrial College, 1937, and the Army War College, 1938; was an instructor at the Army War College, 1938–1940. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel, June 1940; was chief of staff of the VII Corps, 1941.

World War II

Omar Bradley & Collins at Cherbourg, June 1944

Collins was promoted to the temporary ranks of colonel, January 1941, brigadier general, February 1942, and major general, May 1942.

He was chief of staff of the Hawaiian Department, 1941–1942, and commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division—the "Tropic Lightning" Division—on Oahu and in operations against the Japanese on Guadalcanal, 1942–1943 and on New Georgia in from July to October 1943.

Transferred to Europe, he commanded VII Corps in the Normandy invasion and in Western European campaigns to the German surrender, 1944–1945. VII Corps is best known for the leading role it played in Operation Cobra; less well known is Collins' contribution to that plan.

One of the few generals to fight in both Europe and the Pacific, Collins contrasted the nature of the enemy in the two theaters:

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.

Collins was promoted to temporary lieutenant general (April) and permanent brigadier general (June), 1945.

Post war era

He was deputy commanding general and chief of staff of Army Ground Forces, August – December 1945; was director of information (later chief of public information) of the Army, 1945–1947; was deputy (later vice) chief of staff of the United States Army, 1947–1949; was promoted to temporary general and permanent major general, January 1948.

Collins with Walton Walker and John H. Church in Korea

Army Chief of Staff

Collins was chief of staff of the United States Army, August 16, 1949 – August 15, 1953; as such he was the Army’s senior officer throughout the Korean War. As a wartime chief of staff his primary responsibility was to ensure that adequately trained and equipped soldiers were sent to fight in Korea.

He directed the Army’s operation of the railroads, brought the first Special Forces group into the order of battle, and was closely associated with the development of the Army’s contribution to the newly established North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Late career

General Collins was representative of the United States to the Military Committee and the Standing Group of NATO, 1953–1954; was special representative of the United States in Vietnam with ambassadorial rank, 1954–1955 and returned to his NATO assignment. He retired from active service in March 1956.

Death and burial

General Collins died in Washington, D.C., on September 12, 1987. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Awards

1st Row		Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster	Silver Star
2nd Row	Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters	Bronze Star Medal	World War I Victory Medal	Army of Occupation of Germany Medal
3rd Row	American Defense Service Medal	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two campaign stars	European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with five campaign stars	World War II Victory Medal
4th Row	Army of Occupation Medal	National Defense Service Medal	Legion of Honour (Grade of Commander)	Croix de Guerre with palm

References

• Joseph Lawton Collins (1969). War in peacetime: the history and lessons of Korea.

External links

• Joseph Lawton Collins biography in Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff a publication of the United States Army Center of Military History
• J. Lawton Collins Collection Finding Aids 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
• [1]
• A film clip AIR ASSAULT TACTICS ETC. (1945) is available at the Internet Archive

Military offices
Preceded by None	Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army 1947 – 1949	Succeeded by Gen. Wade H. Haislip
Preceded by Gen. Omar Bradley	Chief of Staff of the United States Army 1949—1953	Succeeded by Gen. Matthew Ridgway