James F. Collins – General, United States Army

Born in the Bronx, New York on September 2, 1905, the son of Irish immigrant parents. He graduated from West Point and made the Army his career, one which lasted over 37 years.

In World War II, he saw duty in the Southwest Pacific in Papua-New Guinea and Luzon Campaigns, rising to become Commanding General of an artillery corps in 1945.

After the war, he taught that the Command and General Staff School and at the Army War College and held Pentagon posts in personnel and manpower capacities. In 1954, he was made Commanding General of the Army forces in Alaska and in 1961, after commanding an Infantry Division in the Pacific, became Commander-in-Chief of all Army forces in the Pacific.

He received several military honors, including the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star.

Upon his retirement from the Army in 1964 he assumed the Presidency of the American Red Cross. He arranged the broadening of Red Cross services to American military personnel in Vietnam and services to military hospitals throughout the world.

He died of cancer on January 22, 1989 at his home in McLean, Virginia, and was buried in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery. His wife, Marian McLaughlin, whom he married in 1932, died in 1986 and is buried with him.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard