Lightning joe an autobiography example

Joseph Lawton 'Lightning Joe' Collins
General, U.S. Army

Joseph Lawton Collins was born on 1 May 1896 in Algiers, LA, the son of an Irish immigrant who had served as a Union drummer boy in the American Civil War. Joseph was the nephew of Martin Behrman, Mayor of New Orleans from 1904-20 and again from 1925 to his death in 1926. Behrman used his influence to get Collins an alternate appointment to the U.S. Military Academy - one that he could only obtain if the first nominee failed his entry examination. In the first example of what Collins called his 'usual Irish luck,' the principle candidate failed and, on 2 June 1913, Collins took his place at West Point. In April 1917, he graduated (35th in his class of 139) and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry. He was assigned to the 22nd Infantry and promoted to First Lieutenant in May 1917 and to temporary Captain in August 1917. However, he didn't reach Europe until after the Armistice ended the World War I.

He attended the Infantry School of Arms at Fort Sill, OK, and served with his regiment at various locations during the years 1917-19. He was promoted to permanent Captain in June 1918 and to temporary Major in September 1918. Collins commanded the 3d Battalion, 22d Infantry in France during 1919, and was Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, of American Forces in Germany in 1920-21. He reverted to the rank of Captain in 1920. 

During the period 1921-25, he was and Instructor in the Department of Chemistry at West Point. He graduated from the Company Officer Course at the Infantry School, Fort Benning, GA, in 1926; he graduated from the Advanced Course at the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, in 1927. Collins was an Instructor in Weapons and Tactics at the Infantry School from 1927-31 and was promoted to the permanent rank of Major in August 1932.

Collins was Executive Officer of the 23d Brigade in Manila, and Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Philippine Division, during 1933-34. He graduated from th

Review

J. Lawton Collins was one of the most important and influential American military leaders of the twentieth century. Although he did not see service in France during World War I, his exemplary service during the long, lean interwar years earned him a sterling reputation as an army officer. This resulted in his appointment as chief of staff of VII Corps, newly formed in California to defend the western United States following Pearl Harbor. Shortly afterward General Collins was sent to Hawaii, where he took command of the 25th Infantry Division, which he led in heavy fighting on Guadalcanal following its arrival in December '42 through January '43. It was there that he earned the nickname "Lightning Joe. " In 1944, Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion, found him back with the VII Corps, this time as its commanding general. His descriptions of the fighting in France, the Battle of the Bulge, and the ultimate conquest of Germany offer important insights for anyone interested in the Second World War. Following the war he served as the army's vice chief of staff, and played an important role in shaping the National Security Act of 1947, which created an independent air force and the Department of Defense. As army chief of staff from 1949 to 1953, General Collins' thoughts on the korean War were particularly valuable. At the end of an army career that spanned five decades, he was picked by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles to visit the fledgling Republic of Vietnam on a fact-finding tour. his misgivings about the viability of the South Vietnamese government ultimately proved prophetic. Lightning Joe is the candid, thoughtful appraisal of world-shaking events by a man considered to be one of the most innovative, aggressive, and effective generals the United States has ever produced. -- Midwest Book Review

United States Army general

"Lightning Joe" redirects here. For the boxer, see Joe Gatti.

GeneralJoseph Lawton Collins (1 May 1896 – 12 September 1987) was a senior United States Army officer. During World War II, he served in both the Pacific and European Theaters of Operations, one of a few senior American commanders to do so. He was Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the Korean War.

Collins' elder brother, Major General James Lawton Collins, was also in the United States Army. His nephew, Brigadier GeneralJames Lawton Collins Jr. served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Another nephew, Michael Collins, was the command module pilot on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 that put the first two men on the Moon and retired from the United States Air Force as a major general.

Early life and military career

Joseph Lawton Collins was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on, on 1 May 1896, the tenth of eleven children (five boys, six girls) of the large Irish Catholic family of New Orleans dry goods store and pub owner Jeremiah Bernard Collins and Catherine (Lawton) Collins. He attended the Catholic schools of Algiers and graduated from Boys High School in New Orleans in 1912.

Collins attended Louisiana State University and competed for a congressional appointment to the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York. Selected as an alternate by Representative H. Garland Dupré, Collins received the appointment after the first choice failed to qualify. He followed in the footsteps of his older brother James Lawton Collins, who graduated in 1907. He attended from 14 June 1913 to April 1917, with his class graduating early because of the American entry into World War I. He graduated 35th of 139, and was commissioned shortly before his twenty-first birthday. His classmates included several future general officers, including Matthew Ridgway, Bryant Moore, Ernest N. Ha