Edward Collins
| Date and Place of Birth: | August 18, 1918 Salem, WV |
| Date and Place of Death: | October 12, 1944 Nijmegen, Holland |
| Baseball Experience: | Amateur |
| Position: | Unknown |
| Rank: | Corporal |
| Military Unit: | HQ Company, 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division |
| Area Served: | European Theater of Operations |
Edward Collins loved baseball. He also loved playing his guitar. But by 1944 he had swapped his ball glove and guitar for an automatic weapon and was fighting for democracy in Europe.
Edward P. Collins was born on August 18, 1918 in the small West
Virginia town of Salem. Edward had four sisters and two, and was an avid
baseball player on the sandlots of Salem.
Collins had been a straight-A student in high school, worked as a
produce manager with A&P, was married to Esther, and loved playing the
guitar. But by 1944 he was an elite paratrooper serving with the 504th
Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) of the 82nd Airborne Division in
Europe. On September 17, 1944, Corporal Collins was part of the airborne
assault on Holland (Operation Market-Garden). On September 20, the 504th
PIR made the famous crossing of the Waal River as depicted in the film
A Bridge Too Far.
On October 12, 1944, the 504th PIR was holding a defensive line from the
Wyler Meer south to Vossendahl southeast of Nijmegen when Corporal
Collins was killed by an exploding enemy artillery shell. His brothers,
Bert and Roy, were both serving in Europe at the time of his death.
Edward Collins is buried at Sherwood Memorial Park in Salem, West
Virginia.
Thanks to Dave Berry at www.pathfinderhistoricalconsultants.com for help with this biography.
Date Added: February 5, 2013
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