COLLINS, JAMES QUINCY
Name: James Quincy Collins
Rank/Branch: O3/United States Air Force, pilot
Unit: 80th TFS
Date of Birth: 04 July 1931
Home City of Record: Concord NC
Date of Loss: 02 September 1965
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 210000N 1042400E
Status (in 1973): Returnee
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:F105
Missions: 13+
Other Personnel in Incident: none
Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK 23 March 1997 from one or more of the
following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with
POW/MIA families, published sources, personal interviews.
REMARKS: Released February 12, 1973
SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977
Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor
P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602
Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date and
spelling errors).
JAMES QUINCY COLLINS, JR.
Colonel - United States Air Force
Shot Down: September 2, 1965
Released: February 12, 1973
Born 4 July 1931: Winnsboro, South Carolina. Reared in Concord, North
Carolina. Grammar and high school in Concord. Played football and basketball.
Drum major of high school band. Active in dramatics. Graduated 1949.
1949-1953: The Citadel, Charleston, South Carolina. Graduate. Majored in
Business Administration. Drum major of Citadel Band, leader of Bulldog
Orchestra (dance band). Participated in religious activities.
June 1953: Entered USAF as 2nd Lt. Primary and basic training at Bainbridge,
Georgia and Laredo, Texas. Then to day fighter school at Nellis AFB, Nevada,
flying F-86E and F.
1954: Selected to be "Air Training Officer" at the new Air Force Academy at
temporary site, Lowry AFB, Colorado. Was first choir director at the Academy.
1956: Squadron Officers School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
October 1957: Toul Rosier AFB, France, flying F-100's.
January 1959: Assumed duty as aide to the Commander in Chief of USAFE (Air
Forces in Europe).
August 1959: Returned with General F. F Everest to Langley AFB, Virginia as
aide to Commander Tactical Air Command (TAC).
September 1961 Entered Command and Staff School at Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
August 1962: Reported to George AFB, California for F-104 duty.
May 1963: Completed jump school at Ft Benning Georgia.
January 1964: Checked out in F-105, Nellis AFB
April 1964: Reported to Itazuke AB, Japan, then to Yakota AB, Japan as flight
commander, then Wing Weapons Officer. Volunteered to fly mission out of
Takhli, Thailand in F-105.
June-Aug. 1965: Attended USAF Fighter Weapon School Nellis AFB, Nevada.
On September 2, 1965 I was shot down by flak over North Vietnam,
approximately 80 miles south west of Hanoi, and was seriously injured. My
left leg was broken above the knee in three places. Serious injury and
illness plagued me until late 1971. I'm fit as a fiddle now. I am estranged
from my wife and sons at the present time.
Message: My greatest desire is to serve my country in the best and most
effective manner possible. I feel deeply my obligation as a citizen of the
greatest nation the world has ever known, and I am concerned over what I
have seen since my return. Our nation has drifted from the path that has
made it great! We appear to be turning our backs on the principles on which
this nation was founded. Crime and corruption are rampant. To be on the
street after dark is risky business. Dope is as prevalent as "bubble gum"
and alcoholism is like a "common cold." The basic American unit, the family,
is being torn apart. The character and moral fiber of America is getting
soft! Where are we going, America? It is your responsibility and mine. It is
past the thinking stage. It is time to ACT!
November 1996
James Collins Jr. retired from the United States Air Force as a Colonel. He
still lives in North Carolina.
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