While on our trip to Georgia, Daddy's Aunt Coleen gave him the display case that contains his Grand Father's military awards and other items. He had been asking her for about twenty something years and always hoped one day it would go home with him. Guess he wore her down. I will make note of that and use it later. That said, Mommy and Daddy shipped it back to Utah and it arrived a week or so after we did.
Once it got here, Daddy set out to update it and make it more complete. Daddy told me, that he remembers that his Mother, his aunts and uncle gave it to their Dad, when he was a young boy, some time in the early 1980s. It was either a birthday or Chirstmas gift. After his Grand Father died in 1989, he reorganized it a little. By then he was in the Army and kind of knew something about what was in it. Over the last twenty plus years he has learned a little more and found documents, pictures and other stuff explaining the patches and other items in the case. The first picture is of the display case before he started.
Display case prior to work beginning.
LTC (R) Arnold Collins Jr. complete medal set.
Left to right, top to bottom: Legion of Merit Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Army Commedation Medal w/ 1 oak left, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, Eroupean Campaingn Medal w/ 4 campaign stars, World War II Victory Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Occupation Medal- Germany, National Defense Service Medal with 1 bronze star, Korean War Service Medal w/ 4 campaign stars, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal w/ date bar 1960, United Nations Korean War Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/ Bronze Hour Glass (Verified of DD 214)
Work in progress.
The process continues.
Ideas keep coming.
A 95% solution. Not all items need are readily available.
The seven patches in case represent the major units the Daddy's Grand Father served in. From the top left, the 15th Army Air Corps (WWII), the 45th Infantry Division (WWII), the Berlin Brigade (1950s), the 25th Infantry Division (Korean War), the 10th Moutain Division (Late 1950s) and Military Assistance Command- Vietnam (Vietnam) and the bottom center is the Second Infantry Division (Early 1960s).
In Daddy's Office, on his wall between his enlisted time(Left) and is officer time (Right).
As far as the 95% solution, Daddy needs to come up with a "Mountain Tab" for the bottom left patch and for the top left, he needs to find a unit crest and and get an enlisted rank. Over all it is a different set up and it better reflects his service.
An interesting note, the LTC shoulder board top were supposed to be buried with Arnold, he was buried in his full Dress Blue Uniform. However, they could not be found. Daddy found them at Grandma Kathleen's house several years later. To add to the family value and connection of the display case, some of the medals and rank are Mommy and Daddy's. Daddy did not have all the items from his Grand Father, so both contributed items to make it complete. That way it would not sit half finished and would display as complete as possible tribute to his service.
It is often said, the medals and ribbons a soldier wears tells the story of his life. But, in this case it is incomplete. A huge part can not be displayed here, is the story of Arnold Collins, Jr family. His loving wife, five children, ten grand children and a large number of great grand children. For no soldier's story is complete without his family.
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