All the boys enjoying cigars while at radio school - Camp Crawley, Missouri 1943

Dad and his friend Fitz

Dad and Bissie - radio school 1943

Dad - radio school 1943

Group shot of the 3103 Signal Corp Group in England. My Dad's in the second row kneeling, sixth from the right.

Dad in southern England before being shipped over to France to hook up with the 3rd Army - Spring 1944. He's holding a M1A1 Thompson submachine gun

General Patton would have chewed his butt out for not having on his shirt!

Dad with his tank crew buddies somewhere in Germany 1945. Dad's the one with the devil horns over his head

The Sherman tank crew mugs for the camera

More mugging

Dad wasn't the only family member in Europe. Turns out his Uncle Ott Wooten enlisted at the ripe old age of 40 into the 8th Air Corp.

Below are his separation papers - He was officially in the Signal Corp. Before D-day they had him encrypting, de-crypting messages in England

then they detached him to Patton's 3rd Army - Fourth Armored division where he was a backup driver and a radioman in a Sherman tank in August 1944

Dad said they used their helmet for everything from bathing to cooking. He got yelled at by Patton when he didn't have it on while servicing his tank. His Lt. said "Don't worry Collins I ain't writing you up- that old man's crazy". My father still hated General Patton nearly 60 years later!

Dad somewhere in the ETO (Europeon Theatre of Operations)

He told me the hairest place he saw action was in Belgium and of course the battle of the bulge. The airborne troops they relieved in Bastone were really frost bitten. He said a lot of them had black hands and feet and many lost limbs due to the frost bite.

My Dad's honorable discharge papers

Dad's dog tags. The first line says Collins, Alexander G (his name)

The second line has his SSN, then T43+44 O (tag 1943-1944 O meaning type O blood)

His first driver's license issued in November, 1938

When in France a guy's gotta have some money - he kept some from the war - note the year issued is 1944

Money from various countries he was in, England, Luxembourg and finally Germany

My father's ETO pass for the spring of 1944

Back of the ETO pass

His pass for the weekend - you gotta love the rules - temperance as a soldier - hee hee

Of course he went to a night club just like any other 22 year old would do! (wouldn't you?)

What's a fella do when he gets back to the states after being in the battle of the bulge, the liberation of Buchenwald, etc?

He does what any other red blooded American male would do - check out a night club! Check out the souvenior photo. He was discharged at Ft. Monmouth, NJ.

Dad at the night club in NJ.

Dad's receipt for war booty. Unfortunately my brother hocked these nazi items a long time ago

My father as a baby - early 1923

My father as a little boy with my grandfather's hunting dogs - early 1930's Winston Salem, NC

My parents - 1948

Check my mother's first husband Charles' website (link up at top of page) - he was killed December 18, 1944. He was a ball turret gunner in a B24. His plane crashed over the adriatic sea.

Mom and Dad - late 1940's

She was a widow from the war. Dad came up to Washington D.C. on the G.I. Bill to go to college from North Carolina. My mother's mother-in-law ran a boarding house and Dad rented a room there. That's how they met. Sadly, if Charles had lived they wouldn't have met and myself nor any of my 4 siblings would have been born.

My mother dressed as a lady marine - visiting my Aunt Dottie who was a marine

Mom is wearing one of Aunt Dottie's uniforms. She had to be dressed that way in order to stay in the barracks. Aunt Dottie was married to Mom's brother Tommy who was also a Marine. Uncle Tommy was in Burma and got malaria during the war. He died young at 42 due to complications from the malaria and congenital heart disease. He had childhood bouts with Rheumatic fever which weakened his heart. They obviously didn't have the wonder drugs in the 1920's when he was a child.

I couldn't resist putting in a photo of my grandfather holding my cousin Linda, its around 1948, Iredel County, NC.

His name was Rueben Collins. We called him paw paw. He didn't have running water nor electricity. We thought it was the coolest place on earth when we would visit in the summer. You had to hand crank a bucket that would go down a line to the spring and bring back water. We fought over who got to get water! Fond memories indeed.

Dad's mother visiting us in MD 1968. We called her maw maw. She was Sadie and was quite a character. She was born in a log cabin in NC.

Maw Maw is in the back with my sister Janet. I'm in front barefoot as usual in red pants sitting next to my older sister MaryClare holding our little sister Monica. Janet died in 1974 from acute lymphatic leukemia - she was 14. It of course broke both my parents hearts.

My father with his sister Mary and her husband Bob. August, 2002 - Outer Banks, NC.

Uncle Bob is also a WWII vet - he was a marine in the 3rd Division. They've been married since 1946 and were highschool sweethearts.

My father with 9 of his 10 grandchildren. August 2002 - Outer Banks, NC.

My father's 80th birthday in 2002. Emily who was then 2 years old helps him blow out his candles

14 year old Lisa, 4 year old Matty, my dad, Emily, my sister Monica, with 8 year old Rachel and 6 year old Michael in front

Dad, monica and 7 month old Jack enjoy Dad's 80th birthday cake

11 year old Rachel holds her latest sibling, Alexander Marcelino born two days after my father died. He was 7 lbs, 13 oz.