MISSING IN ACTION
Pfc. John Collins is reported missing in action in north Africa on Feb. 17, 1943, according to word received by his wife, Mrs. Harriet Collins, formerly of Mason City, now at Cedar Rapids.
Private Collins was employed by Webster Brothers and Conover Manufacturing company prior to entering the army. He left Mason City with the national guard in February, 1941.
He is the nephew of Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Rosa, 416 Third street northwest. Mrs. Collins is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Waddell, 523 Georgia avenue northeast.
Private Collins’ father, the late Ambrose Collins of Minneapolis, was a veteran of the first World war.
Source: The Globe-Gazette, Mason City, Iowa, Friday, March 12, 1943, Page 7
GERMAN PRISONER
Word was received this week by Mrs. Harriet Collins of 523 Georgia avenue northeast, that her husband, Pfc. John Collins, is a prisoner of the Germans. He was reported missing in North Africa on Feb. 17, 1943.
Mrs. Collins is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Waddell, and her husband is the nephew of Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Rosa, 416 Third street northeast. Private Collins’ mother is Mrs. Ted Christenson of Vancouver, B. C.
Source: The Globe-Gazette, Mason City, Iowa, Friday, April 30, 1943, Page 3 (photo included)
35 Cerro Gordo Men Killed in Action in 2 ½ Years of War
Memorial Day this year marks almost 2 ½ years since the United States entered World War II. Of the more than 11 million men serving with the U.S. armed forces at home and overseas, it is estimated that Cerro Gordo county has contributed 4,100 men.
Prisoners of war list:
Pfc. John Collins, prisoner of Germans, May, 1943.
Source: Mason City Globe-Gazette, May 30, 1944
John Paul Collins was born Feb. 8, 1915 to Ambrose and Marie Lutz Collins. He died Nov. 22, 1980 and is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Waterloo. IA.
Pvt. Collins served in World War II with the U.S. Army and was a German POW for 28 months.
Source: ancestry.com
