A Great American Hero

An American hero died today...He was one of the
'Great Generation' of Americans...He was a hero
of World War II...he was a popular face around the
Space Center in Houston...and he was my father-in-
law.
John D. Collins was always known as J.D. and always
had a smile on his face. He dropped out of high school
at the age of 17 to help America in the fight against
Hitler's world conquest ambitions. Assigned to the 8th
Army Air Force, J.D. flew dozens of missions over
Germany as the crew chief of a B-17 bomber. He always
told me the pilot flew the plane, but it was his plane to
take care of. As he was nearing the 25th mission point
that would allow him to return home, his B-17 was shot
up by German fighters . The pilot could not control the
plane and the order to bail out was given. Being the crew
chief, he made sure everyone was out before heading for
an exit himself. With the plane already in a spiral of death,
J.D. decided to just go out through the bomb bay doors. With
no hydraulics the doors swung back and gashed his head
open as he went past. When he woke up on the ground German
soldiers were applying bandages to his wound. He spent the
next seven months in a POW camp until the war ended. Back
home he finished his 20 years in the Air Force and then went to
work for NASA, the space administration people in Houston.
When the astronauts were seated in their capsules, he was the
last human to make contact with them. Making sure they were
hooked to the vehicle, he always knocked each astronaut on the
top of his helmet for luck, and gave them the 'thumbs up'.
Always a generous and giving person, he was loved by family and
friends alike...and there are a lot of them. God Bless J.D. and happy
landings...