In May 1942 Collins was appointed as battalion commander of the 1st Battalion,
130th Infantry Regiment. In May 1944 the 130th Infantry deployed to
Finschhafen in
New Guinea. In August 1944 Collins assumed command of the 130th Infantry, commanding the regiment during the
Battle of Morotai and
Battle of Luzon, where the 130th Infantry participated in the capture of
Baguio. The 130th Infantry then participated in the
Occupation of Japan, landing there in September 1945. In June 1965 Collins was appointed as commander of the
4th Infantry Division and led it during its deployment to
South Vietnam in August 1966 and remained in command until January 1967. In January 1970 Collins was appointed to command
I Field Force, Vietnam, which he commanded from February 1970 to January 1971. Upon reviewing some of the more optimistic portions of his predecessor General
William R. Peers' debriefing report, he questioned the existence of any discernible progress during the past two years. "Frankly," Collins observed, "I do not know what happened between 1968–1970," believing that "if the ARVN combat units had improved as much as indicated by General Peers, somewhere along the line they had again slipped back a long way." Upon his arrival in February 1970, Collins judged that the local Vietnamese forces were "woefully weak because of lack of leadership at the regimental and battalion level," and he exhibited little of Peers' optimism. Collins served as acting
Commanding General, United States Army Europe from 20 March to 26 May 1971. He retired from the army in July 1974. Collins lived in
Alexandria, Virginia after retirement. Collins was buried at the
West Point Cemetery on 11 January 1984. ==References==