Harry J. Collins

Major General Harry John Collins (December 7, 1895 – March 8, 1963) was a decorated senior United States Army officer who commanded the 42nd "Rainbow" Infantry Division during World War II.

Early life and military career

Collins was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 7, 1895, the son of John C. Collins and Margaret Collins. He was raised and educated in Hoboken, New Jersey and Sparta, Illinois and was the honor graduate of his Western Military Academy class in 1915. He attended the University of Chicago before leaving in 1917 to join the United States Army after America's entry into World War I.

Collins completed the course at the Officer Training Camp in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1917, received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Infantry Branch, and was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Regiment.

Collins served with the 3rd Infantry on the Mexican Border at Eagle Pass, Texas, at the end of the Pancho Villa Expedition and during World War I.

Between the wars

Collins remained with the 3rd Infantry, including assignments at Camp Sherman, Ohio, and Fort Snelling, Minnesota. In 1922, he was assigned to the 19th Infantry Regiment at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He completed the Infantry Officer Course at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1926 and remained there as an instructor on the staff of the U.S. Army Infantry School. From 1929 to 1930, he was an instructor at Fort Ethan Allen, Vermont, and he completed the Infantry Advanced Course at Fort Benning in 1930.

A specialist with the placement and marksmanship of machine guns, he operated schools for machine gun operators at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and Fort Warren in the early 1930s. Collins graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School in 1934. In 1935, he completed the Chemical Warfare Course and the United States Army War College.