The Attributed White Mess Jacket of U.S. Army General James Francis Collins

The mess jacket is tailored in a high quality tropical weight white wool. The jacket bears four cloth rank stars on each cuff, while the jacket displays a bullion embroidered Secretary of Defense identification badge as well as a bullion embroidered Army General Staff identification badge, both with clutch back fasteners. General Collins’s miniature medals are mounted on the lapels. The jacket exhibits mild age toning and some subtle spots, but overall the jacket is in excellent condition. James Francis Collins was born in The Bronx on 2 September 1905, and raised in the Van Nest neighborhood. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he gained his commission in 1927 into the Field Artillery. He later attended the National War College. He also worked in the Hawaiian Division before the outbreak of World War II, during which he served exclusively in the Pacific Theater. At the close of World War II, Collins commanded the I Corps Artillery in the Philippines and in Japan. From 1954 to 1957 he commanded the U.S. Army, Alaska. Afterward he commanded the 71st and 2nd Infantry Divisions before his tour in Hawaii. Other significant assignments include serving on the faculty of the Army War College and as Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Department of the Army in Washington, D.C. Collins was appointed President of the American Red Cross in 1964, one month after retiring from the Army. During his tenure he enhanced Red Cross services to American military personnel in Vietnam and to military hospitals worldwide. He died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on 22 January 1989. He is buried with his wife Marian A. (1905–1986) at Arlington National Cemetery.