- the nature of this interview. I don't know what to tell you. Yeah, we are basically just looking for some
background about your life in the service and your experiences there. You know we'll start with the basics like
when and where were you born. Another question we thought would be interesting
to ask is you know how your parents or if you had any siblings how they felt about you
joining the service, what was the nature of you joining you know a timeline of your experience
like when you went to basic training when you actually- did you see combat, you know
those kinds of things. So just the story of your experience. You'll get a picture of an old GI. Yeah. So if you wanted to start off by telling us
about when you were born and how old you were when you-
Should I put this away or should I hold it? It's your call. Yeah, take a couple sips, Dad, we know you
need your coffee. What do you want to know? When you were born and where, and where you
were living when the war started and you joined the service. My name is Tom Collins. I was born August 26, 1923, in Hartford, Connecticut. I grew up in Norwich, Connecticut. I enlisted in the army when I was 18. I didn't shave until I was in the army for
over a year and a half. In an inspection some officer reach over and
rubbed his hand across my cheek and called me a son of a [__]. No, tell the whole story. What's that? Tell the whole story, that it was an inspection. Which one? That story. Oh, well, it was a regular barracks inspection. And all the guys are lined up and all these
grizzled veterans were there and there comes this young kid. I looked a lot younger than I was - I looked
about 15. And he looked at me, rubbed his hand down
my cheek, and he said I'll be a son of a [__]. I didn't shave until I was in the army 2 years. So why did you enlist? I was 18, my country needed me, I joined up. Did you have any siblings that also enlisted? Who did you leave behind when you went on. One sister. She was younger and she stayed in Norwich. My parents were gone, no other siblings. Which branch did you enter of service? I was in the U.S. army. They put me in the engineers. Why I don't know. I was 18 and didn't know a thing about engineering. So what is your most vivid memory of your
time training? My most vivid memory of my time in the army? Probably on Okinawa when they dropped the
atomic bomb and I was sitting there with my commanding officer a couple of the guys and
the captain said Thomas- he always called me Thomas he never called me by rank- he said
I think the war is over (and I think we're gonna go home alive). Oh yeah, I guess we're gonna go home alive. We were getting ready to invade Japan and
I didn't think I'd survive. But... Yeah I said I think I'm gonna go home alive. What'd you do after that did you go over to
Japan? I went over to Japan, had a wonderful time
in Japan. The people were wonderful there. What did they say to you? Well during the first few days I was there,
there was no communication in Japan, and the people, some of the people ask me, you mean
the war is over? and I said yes. Planes? What did they ask you about the planes? Oh yeah one of them asked me, you mean no
more B-29s? They were scared to death on the beach on
the islands. I would be too if I saw a couple hundred fly
over me dropping bombs. What about the story of the- eating the can
of whatever it was- spam or- you know that story we've heard? You were trapped behind enemy lines for a
while? We were in New Guinea and we were trapped
and we didn't eat anything for a few days. And they come by and one of the guys opened
a can of spam and gave it to me and I thought it was delicious. I wouldn't eat it today. One thing I've never heard is- you've talked
about Japan, but what were you guys doing in New Guinea and- what was the other place
you were- the Philippines? Like, what were you guys sent there to do? What was it like in the Philippines? Well, what were you doing at the Philippines
and New Guinea? What was your unit doing? Well I was in an engineering outfit and our
principal job was to lengthen the airstrips. We flew in and lengthened the airstrips so
our planes could land because the Japanese planes didn't need as long of an airstrip
as we did. You've got to understand that I was a teenager,
I didn't shave until I was in the army for a year and a half. So, I was not an important factor in this
whole thing. Just some guy taking up space, trying not
to do too much. Were a lot of you doing that? Yeah. So you'd go in right behind the initial wave
of infantry? Yeah. It was exciting doing that. While you guys were building these airstrips,
were you getting attacked or what was going on the whole time? Well, the reason we were building the airstrips
is the Japanese planes didn't take as much space as we did, so we wanted to lengthen
the airstrips so our airplanes could land on there. We had all these very hot planes like the
P38 the P-47 and they had the little zeros and could take off at a hundred feet. Yeah, that's a long time ago, it's hard for
me to remember all of these things. You're doing a good job, though, Dad. So you enlisted when you were 18 and you went
through training and then when you shipped out where did you go first? When I got out of the army? Well, when you got out of basic training where
did you- where did you go after basic? We headed for Australia, or New Zealand I
should say, and then Australia, and those were luxury days, and then I went to New Guinea. I went from living in a nice room in Australia
to a pup tent in the jungle. It was quite an adjustment. How many people were in your tent? Oh just one. I'm pretty sure it was the size of this table
right here. You couldn't get two people in there. Unless it was cold. Yeah, and we went to New Guinea, and you got
to remember I was just a teenager. I was at the bottom of the totem pole. And, actually the men sort of looked out for
me. It was mostly guys I remember were in their
middle twenties, they were grizzly old veterans. I didn't shave. I can remember once when some captain came
by and looked at my full field pack and said, Collins, there's no razor in this full field
pack. I said I know captain, I don't shave and he
went like that and he rubbed my cheek, I'll be a son of a [ __ ]. Did you have any close friends that were in
your unit? Well, when you're overseas in combat, they're
all your close friends, believe me. But anybody hung around with or chummed with? I don't recall there's anybody special, I
just liked everybody. What about William Williams and Peter Peters,
those guys? I was in the army with one guys named Peter
Peters and the guy named William Williams. What about the other two guys? Which ones were they? William Peters and Peter Williams. Oh yeah William Peters and Peter Williams,
William Williams, and Peter Peter. Yeah I have to stop and think. I'm getting old I can't remember anymore. So, where did you go after New Guinea? What other islands were you on? New Guinea- I went to Leyte in the Philippines,
which is practically civilized. Was there fighting going on there? Oh, yes, a lot of fighting! But the Japanese [unintelligible] we drove
them out of the Philippines pretty quickly, and most of our time in the Philippines we
spent- Well actually we didn't have much to do so I go into Manila. I go to- well I was always up there those
islands. I was mostly down in Mindanao but... you'll
have to forgive my memory I'm 98 years old, I can't remember all these things quite so
well as I used to. You're remembering a lot- you're remembering
a lot, yeah. Well it's hard to forget. Yeah, I bet. Well, I was only 18 when I started. I know, those are things that stick with you. Oh yeah. And after the Philippines what did you do? In the Philippines? After the Philippines. Well I went to Okinawa, and Okinawa's a big
barren hunk of land, and our job was the lengthen the airstrip so our planes could take off
from there and bomb Japan. So there was still a lot of fighting going
on there, too, right? The Japanese don't quit. Anybody who might've left was just- left a
few in the foxholes and those are the foxholes who would sneak out at night and try to stab
the Americans. You gotta give the Japanese credit, they were
fighters. And I loved being in Japan, these are people
who were wonderful. The war was over, of course, and they were
very happy, happy to have us there as guests, not conquering soldiers, but I was just a
kid, you know. I'm little- matured late in life. I went to the army when I was 18 but it was
more like I was 15. I didn't shave till I'd been in the army a
couple years. Ask me some more questions. Well what was the hardest part of military
life that you had to adapt to? The hardest part of military? It was not- I adapted very quickly, I enjoyed
military life. Why do you think that was? Well, it was an improvement over my life before. I was an orphan when I was a little kid and
I went to live with relatives who didn't want me and made it known that they didn't want
me and so I enlisted when I was 18 mainly to get away from them, yeah. And then I got out of the army and it was
a different world. Then I met Paul's mother. That was a big day. She was wonderful girl. She's not with us anymore, but she made me
happy for 50 years. 65
What's that? 65. 65 years? You gotta figure my memory- I'm getting mixed
up. How was- So if you enlisted to get away from
the family and life was better, how was your life immediately after? Did you come back- I can't hear. How was after the army? Like, the first year you got out-
After I left the army? Was it better than before you left? Well, yeah I went right to college and I eventually
graduated from Wesleyan and then I went to law school and started practicing and I practiced
right up until- how long ago? A few years ago. Probably 5 years ago
Yeah I was probably 75... 90- you were 90, still practicing and driving. I loved every minute of it. Do you want to explain the medals over there? I was never a big hero, I was in the engineers. Most of those medals are by accident or they
gave them to everybody, just for being there, getting shot at, lying in the foxhole at night,
with the bombs exploding around us. Slightly different than my childhood. Yeah, it was a different world. I hope you guys never get
to know it. Dad, what was it like when you came back? How did the public react to you? Did they treat you kind of as someone who
was a hero who had been over there? Or was not much said? Well it's hard to say because I went to college
and everybody in my class was an ex-GI, so we had a lot in common. Even at Wesleyan? I don't recall anybody ever treating me badly
when I came back. I know some of my friends said they had experience
with people's ... GI ..., but I never experienced any of that. You gotta understand when I went in the army
I didn't shave. I was 18, I looked about 14. In fact, my nickname in the army was "the
kid." Oh yeah? They called you the kid? The kid. Did I tell you about the time we were having
an inspection? Yes. What else? Those were all the stories I've heard. So what was- when you got over there what
surprised you or how was life different over there? How was it different? When you were in the service, yeah. Well New Zealand and Australia were wonderful,
they were just like the United States, but when we got to New Guinea it was a different
story. I got off this luxury liner, go into the jungle,
and they gave me a pup tent and said that's yours. The pup tent was about the size this little
table there and I slid into it. That was my bunk for a while. What were you doing on New Guinea? After the airport- the landing strips were
finished? We didn't have much to do. Daily life? You just hung around and did nothing? Mostly did nothing, just waited for the invasion
of the Philippines. In the army it's hurry up and wait. There's a lot of sitting around, nothing to
do, and all of a sudden boom boom boom. Did they give you any warning that you were
about to leave? Oh no that's the last thing the army did was
tell you anything. So just one day somebody showed up and said
pack up we're going- that's right- you're getting on a ship. What unit-
They didn't tell us where they were going. What unit were you guys attached to when you
went over? I can't hear- What unit when you went over? Was it Marines, was it Army, who were the
infantry guys that you guys were with? I'm sorry, I can't hear you. I'm old and going deaf. When you went to the Philippines and you said
that the infantry would take the islands in front of you, do you know what unit that was
that you were with? I was in the army engineers. No, who were you attached to? There was a unit that invaded the Philippines
in front of you. Were those army infantry? Oh those were infantry, yeah. You don't know what unit though? No. What division or- ?
They never told us anything. We were just told to go in and lengthen the
airstrip. What was the number of your unit? The 872nd Airborne Engineers. Airborne because we traveled by plane, and
we had little dinky toy tractors so you get out of the plane. You never had to jump out of a plane, though. I never jumped out of a plane, no. I thought a couple of times I was gonna have
to, but I didn't have to. Why, you thought the plane was going down? Yeah. Was it hit by anti-aircraft or it was mechanical? Hit by anti-aircraft, but we managed to land
as you can see. Do you remember when that was? When that happened? Could you tell a little more about when your
plane was hit by anti-aircraft? I think it was in New Guinea. It's a long time ago, I'd forgotten. I can tell you one thing, I was in one of
the most wonderful bunch of guys you're ever gonna meet. I was about the only one in my outfit who
wasn't a draftee, I joined. And sometimes some of the fellas look at me
they think, what's wrong with him? He enlisted? But I loved the army and I was 18 years old,
what the heck. You went in as a buck private? I went in as a buck private, yeah. What promotions did you get along the way? Where is it-
The medals? Oh here it is right here, yeah. Those are medals they gave me for bravery-
I wasn't brave. I didn't know what those medals are. This is a symbol of the Corps of Engineers. Why they put me in the engineers I don't know,
I went in when I was 18. They needed- I didn't know how to add up the
figures, let alone build buildings. Well how did you become- go from a buck private
to whatever that rank is? What rank is that, do you know? Corporal. So you got a promotion at some point? How did you find out about that? Did somebody come up and tell you? My CO said, Collins, you're a Corporal. So then it was just you and Douglas MacArthur
at that point- the high-ranking guys. I never met Dugout Doug, no. Dugout Doug? We always refer to him as Dugout Doug. Not to his face. I never met him. Why did you call him Dugout Doug? I met Eisenhower. Did you? And you know what? He treated me as if I were the president he
grabbed my hand and shook it. When was that? When he was president? In Hartford, Connecticut. That was in the middle of Bushnell Park and
he saw me and he walked over. He approached me. I would never dare to approach him, I would've
been shot. You know, so many cops running around with
submachine guns, this is in Hartford. There's already they had a lot of shootings,
so they didn't want him to get shot in Hartford. Was he campaigning for president? \
Oh he was president I think. He was already president? You know I'm gonna be close to a hundred I
can't remember everything quite perfectly anymore - you're doing fine! I try. Do you remember your CO? When you were over you said your CO told you
that you were a corporal, do you remember what your CO was like? My CO was named Walter D Weathers, and he
was from somewhere backwoods of Mississippi. And he was a "y'all" sort of speaking. I can remember once he said, Tom, y'all see
my Jeep? What rank was he, a captain? General, captain, something like that. g
Was he a good CO? Was he good to you and the other men? He was okay. Our colonel was an ace. He was a really good guy. Do you
do you remember his name? The colonel- do you remember his name? Henley What did the colonel command? Was he in charge of a regiment or a company
or- Battalion. Of about 800 men, with four companies each
about 200 men, and I was one of the youngest of the outfit. So the battalion- the 872nd Airborne Engineers. But that's a battalion? Yeah. Okay. I can remember our commanding officer named
Henley- can't remember his first name- and he was deaf. We referred to him as "deafy." He was followed by his assistant Johnny D
Mollinax, he was a nice guy. He looked like a wrestler, huge man. Those were the days. Did you ever drive tractors or bulldozers
or anything when you were working on the air strips? Oh of course, that's what you do. You see, we lengthen the aircraft because
the Japanese planes could land on the short runway- airstrips and we lengthen them so
that our planes could land on them. Add a little more length to the airstrip and
we were playing cards. Can you explain the process of the airstrip? Did you have to bring in cement or what did
actually do when you were building an airstrip? We just have to plow jungle out of the way
and then lengthen the airstrip so our plane could land. Okay. How about that time you were watching a movie
I think it was in New Guinea on a- and you started getting bombed? That happened more than once. You'd string a bedsheet up between trees-
Sorry? You'd string a bedsheet up? Bedsheet? To watch the movie on? To make a screen? Oh, we spread a bed sheet between two coconut
trees and shine the movie on there. We saw a lot of movies. But then the Japanese would bomb you during
the movie and you would curse them? We'd turn off the camera and swear and shake
our fist at the Japanese planes and at the bombs. Jump in a foxhole? You know we didn't have any foxholes. But we laid flat on the ground and when it
sounded all clear we'd go back to watching the movie as though nothing happened. Do you remember some of the movies
you watched? Mostly they were musical comedies, Betty Grable,
people like that. Probably not a lot of war movies, right? Not a lot of war movies you watched? You were living it. Oh yeah we saw war movies. What was that movie with Van Johnson that
was so famous? A war movie... As I get older I'm a good forgetter. You're doing great, Dad. How did you get home from Japan? By plane or by ship? Plane. Where did you fly into? Portland, Oregon. And then how did you get back to Norwich? Well I stayed in Portland for a while, and
then I get back to Norwich by train. All across the country by train? Did you stay in touch with the men from your
unit when you got home? Norwich. Right, did
you stay in touch with everybody from the war though after you got home and went to
college? Did you still talk to people keep up friendships? No. Well I went to college in Middletown- Wesleyan
University. (I don't think he can hear you)
But then later on I went to law school in Hartford. Dad, did you stay in touch with anybody from
your army units after the war? No. I wrote to one or two but they never answered. But it never bothered me, I was too busy in
college, having a good time, studying hard. Wesleyan was a great school. Did you ever think about staying in the army
after the war? Well I was married. I think my wife would have objected, she probably
would have shot me. So, Dad, Van Johnson movies: 30 Seconds Over
Tokyo, A Guy Named Joe, and The Human Comedy were all war movies. They were on after the war. Oh those were after the war? I think so. Okay. Yeah, you're testing my memory, we're going
back a long way. So how did your military experiences affect
the rest of your life? Like what are the biggest lessons you took
from being in the service? Well I immediately enrolled in college. I always really wanted to be a lawyer and
when I graduated from college I went to law school and I've been practicing for what 50-
60 years? But did your military experience help you
in law school or your practice? Oh it must have. I can't tell you exactly how much, but I matured. I was just a kid when I went in the service-
I didn't shave- what's the matter? That's okay. That was a lot of information you remembered,
I'm impressed. That was very good. Do you have anything else you want to say? No, I enjoyed army life. This is kind of a cool question but what message
would you like to leave for future generations who listen to this interview? Is there anything that you'd like people to
know? Oh, just love each other. Yeah I got out of the army and then I met Paul's mother. I remember, I started walking by and I said
I'm gonna marry that girl, and I did. Not too long after- about 5 months later. Where were you working? At a life insurance company. And she walked by your desk? She walked by my desk, yeah. And didn't somebody say what if she has a
boyfriend? Yeah, I said something like, well I'd have
to shoot him, something like that. But I didn't have to. I met her and we were married 5 months later. And how long were we married? About 55 years? 65 years. But then she passed away, yes. Well I hope you have as good a marriage as
I did. Yeah, we were lucky, and we had two wonderful
kids. Yeah but she's not here. I can keep up with you! You can, no doubt. Now, who are you interviewing for? So, we work on the Veterans History Project
there's a chapter of it- Oh, you're talking about all the old veterans
of World War II? Yeah, every war. And your story will get saved at the Library
of Congress. Well I hope they're all cooperative with you. You are our first that we've interviewed and
you've been very cooperative, so thank you. The Library of Congress that's pretty cool-
it's a great project. Yeah, very good. All right, thank you very much.
