Herman Fred Collins was born July 12, 1924, in Halifax, Vermont, and grew up in Massachusetts. He enlisted in the Army on Sept. 9, 1942, and volunteered for the parachute infantry. He was sent to Camp Toccoa in Georgia for training, and then was assigned to the headquarters section of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion/506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division.
After training in the U.S. and England, Collins was prepared to make his first combat jump into Normandy. He was placed with the company headquarters under the command of 1LT Thomas Meehan.
Just after 11:00 PM on June 5, 1944, the plane carrying Collins and the other members of Chalk #66 took off. 1LT Richard Winters followed just behind in Chalk #67. After crossing over the coastline and into occupied Normandy, Easy Company’s C-47s came under anti-aircraft and small arms fire for roughly 10 miles before reaching their drop zones.
Around 1:12 AM, Collins’s plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and began to lose altitude with an engine fire. Two miles south of Sainte Mere Eglise, the plane hit the ground and exploded on impact, killing all 5 of the flight crew and 17 parachute infantrymen aboard, including Collins. One of the few items recovered from the crash site were his dog tags, which are now on display at the D-Day Experience Museum in Normandy.
Collins was only 19 years old when he died. He and 20 other victims of the crash are interred together in Section 84, Site 25-31 at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Honor his service at his virtual Veterans Legacy Memorial page.
This #VeteranOfTheDay is from the Veterans Legacy Program. To learn more about the VLP, our partnerships and how we share the stories of Veterans in our national cemeteries, please visit the VLP webpage.
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I would like to learn more as to why Collins and fellow soldiers are interred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.