Warbird Information Exchange

Walter Collins, retired Air Force major who wrote book on WWII, dies at 94

By TIM STANLEY World Staff Writer

Having flown a military transport plane during the D-Day Invasion, the Battle of the Bulge and other conflicts of World War II, Walter Collins never lacked for good writing material.

But the former Air Force major, who in retirement took up the pen, didn't always draw on it.

Many of his poems, for example, are about his boyhood growing up in Oklahoma, daughter Mary Moore said.

"He was never much on talking about the war, either, at least not to us," she said.

When Collins did take up the subject, though, he did so with passion and purpose.

In addition to his many articles and poems, the Tulsa-area native also wrote a book, "Into Fields of Fire," about the 438th Troop Carrier Group and its vital role in the war.

The book "started out small, but then grew and grew and grew," Moore said.

The 438th, of which Collins was a member, made history by leading the airborne part of the D-Day Invasion, dropping the first Allied paratroopers into Nazi-occupied France.

Walter Lloyd George Collins, a University of Tulsa graduate, died March 1 in Ponca City. He was 94.

A graveside memorial service is set for 1 p.m. Friday at Fort Gibson National Cemetery in Fort Gibson under the direction of Moore's Memory Funeral Home.

Collins, who was born near Broken Arrow and grew up in Kaw City, already had a wife and three children when he decided to join the Army Air Forces.

After serving at bases across the United States and Europe over 32 years, he retired in 1964.

He later moved back to Tulsa to work for the Spartan School of Aeronautics. For the last 20 years, he had lived in Ponca City.

In retirement, Collins devoted himself to writing and photography.

"Into Fields of Fire," a history of the 438th in 300-plus pages, is based on the wartime journals of Collins' late friend and fellow 438th pilot Austin J. "Buck" Buchanan of Michigan, and it shows the war through his eyes.

Flying C-47 transports - many of which were built by Douglas Aircraft in Oklahoma City - Collins, Buchanan and other pilots of the 438th flew missions deep into enemy territory, often through flak-filled skies, to drop paratroopers or tow gliders.

Collins' many decorations included three Air Medals and an Air Force Commendation Medal.

Collins, who held a bachelor's degree from Texas Pan-American University, later received a master's degree in English from TU.

His articles and poems have appeared in magazines and newspapers in the U.S., England and the Middle East.

He won various awards for his poetry and two national photography awards, as well as the George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge for his service to the country.

A man of many interests, Collins made friends easily, Moore said.

And he loved to fly. He continued to pilot recreationally after leaving the military, as long as his health permitted.

Collins' survivors include four children, Mary Ellen Moore, Walter Collins, Alvin Collins and Shirley Green; 18 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; and nine great-great-grandchildren.

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