thedrifter
09-06-07, 07:22 AM
Soldier killed in Iraq was 'one of the best'
By Annette Kingsbury
STAFF WRITER
James S. Collins Jr. had already served four years in the Marines, then gone to college and earned a degree in criminal justice when he felt the call to go back into the military.
So he joined the Army Reserves as an active soldier in the 303rd Military Police Company based in Jackson. He and his wife, Amy, bought a house there.
Sgt. Collins, 35, was in Iraq with the 303rd, a combat support unit, when he was killed Aug. 28 in Kirkuk. According to the Army, Collins was killed when his forward operating base came under fire. He was buried Wednesday with full military honors as flags across the state flew at half-staff in his honor.
Collins' parents, Marilyn and James Collins Sr., live in Rochester Hills. He is also survived by a son, Dawson, 8, a sister, Joanna, and his grandmother, Jeannette Maul.
Troy's police and fire departments and motorcyclists from the Patriot Guard were a quiet but visible presence outside A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Home in Troy Wednesday morning. Burial followed at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.
Collins was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, the combat action badge and medals for good conduct, the Iraq campaign and the global war on terrorism.
"But 'thank you' will never suffice," said Major General Adolph McQueen, commanding general of all military police soldiers in the U.S. "Sgt. James S. Collins is a hero who sacrificed his life in the global war on terrorism."
McQueen said that after talking with Collins' colleagues, he learned that "as a soldier he was one of the best. ... An integral part of the team, a hero, a patriot. ... A noncommissioned officer who put the needs of his soldiers before his own."
Sgt. Collins was a 1990 graduate of Southfield-Lathrup High School, where he played four years of football and track. The son of two career music teachers, he was also part of a singing group called The Madrigals, which traveled the world performing. He went on to attend Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City and Lake Superior State University, where he received a degree in criminal justice.
Collins and his wife, the former Amy Kline, were married Nov. 23, 2005, in his parents' home in Rochester Hills when it appeared he was about to be deployed. The Rev. Jess Monticello, who conducted the wedding and knew the groom as "Jimmy," said he remembered the day well.
"What a blessing to me to see two people so in love with each other," he said. "He was loved by Dawson; they were good buddies. They were proud of each other."
Monticello said Marilyn Collins told him about learning that her son was going to Iraq.
"Jimmy said, 'Mom, it's my turn to go,'"
Until Collins' death, Monticello said he had always thought of him as a boy.
"I think Jimmy was a man of conviction," he said. "I'm proud of Jimmy the man."
Memorial tributes may be made to the Wounded Soldier Relief Fund or Dawson's college fund, c/o Comerica Bank, 260 Brown Rd., Auburn Hills, MI 48326 or any Comerica Bank branch.
akingsbury@hometownlife.com (248) 651-7575, Ext. 17
Ellie
By Annette Kingsbury
STAFF WRITER
James S. Collins Jr. had already served four years in the Marines, then gone to college and earned a degree in criminal justice when he felt the call to go back into the military.
So he joined the Army Reserves as an active soldier in the 303rd Military Police Company based in Jackson. He and his wife, Amy, bought a house there.
Sgt. Collins, 35, was in Iraq with the 303rd, a combat support unit, when he was killed Aug. 28 in Kirkuk. According to the Army, Collins was killed when his forward operating base came under fire. He was buried Wednesday with full military honors as flags across the state flew at half-staff in his honor.
Collins' parents, Marilyn and James Collins Sr., live in Rochester Hills. He is also survived by a son, Dawson, 8, a sister, Joanna, and his grandmother, Jeannette Maul.
Troy's police and fire departments and motorcyclists from the Patriot Guard were a quiet but visible presence outside A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Home in Troy Wednesday morning. Burial followed at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.
Collins was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, the combat action badge and medals for good conduct, the Iraq campaign and the global war on terrorism.
"But 'thank you' will never suffice," said Major General Adolph McQueen, commanding general of all military police soldiers in the U.S. "Sgt. James S. Collins is a hero who sacrificed his life in the global war on terrorism."
McQueen said that after talking with Collins' colleagues, he learned that "as a soldier he was one of the best. ... An integral part of the team, a hero, a patriot. ... A noncommissioned officer who put the needs of his soldiers before his own."
Sgt. Collins was a 1990 graduate of Southfield-Lathrup High School, where he played four years of football and track. The son of two career music teachers, he was also part of a singing group called The Madrigals, which traveled the world performing. He went on to attend Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City and Lake Superior State University, where he received a degree in criminal justice.
Collins and his wife, the former Amy Kline, were married Nov. 23, 2005, in his parents' home in Rochester Hills when it appeared he was about to be deployed. The Rev. Jess Monticello, who conducted the wedding and knew the groom as "Jimmy," said he remembered the day well.
"What a blessing to me to see two people so in love with each other," he said. "He was loved by Dawson; they were good buddies. They were proud of each other."
Monticello said Marilyn Collins told him about learning that her son was going to Iraq.
"Jimmy said, 'Mom, it's my turn to go,'"
Until Collins' death, Monticello said he had always thought of him as a boy.
"I think Jimmy was a man of conviction," he said. "I'm proud of Jimmy the man."
Memorial tributes may be made to the Wounded Soldier Relief Fund or Dawson's college fund, c/o Comerica Bank, 260 Brown Rd., Auburn Hills, MI 48326 or any Comerica Bank branch.
akingsbury@hometownlife.com (248) 651-7575, Ext. 17
Ellie