Project 888
Name: James S. COLLINS
Rank / Rating: STM1-Steward's Mate First ClassService #: 644 45 55 DOB: 1926 From: Meridian, MS Parents: Bennie Collins and Rosie Lee Collins Went Aboard: Oct 04, 1943 Age When Ship Went Down: 19 Spouse: Children: Grandchildren: Bio Submitted By: Jane Gwinn Goodall |
 COLLINS, James S |
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Our initial research estimated that James Collins was born in Mississippi in mid-to-late 1926. At the time of the sinking, his mother Rosie Lee Collins was listed as his emergency contact person. She was residing in Meridian, Mississippi.
Using those clues, we were able to find James listed in the 1940 Census in Starkville, Mississippi (75 miles from Meridian). According to that document, James was 13 at the time of the U.S. Census and lived with his mother Rosie (a cook), and his 15-year-old brother, spelled “Aron” in the census listing, who worked in a store. James Collins was not employed at the time of the 1940 Census.
We recently found a relative of James Collins who was able to provide more detailed information.
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| The second son of Rosie Lee and Bennie Collins, James, was born 26 December 1926 in Starkville, Mississippi. His mother, Rosie Lee, came from a large family. She was the youngest of the four daughters (Mary Alice, Evangeline, Luetisha, and Rosie Lee) and the 9th of the 13 children born to Thomas (a farmer, minister, and later sharecropper) and Dilcie Smith. Dilcie Smith died when Rosie Lee was only five years old, and her father Thomas died two years later. The family broke apart, but Rosie Lee stayed with her second oldest sister, Evangeline. Evangeline is the grandmother of Lori Hendricks, who we were able to interview about her distant cousin James Collins. Rosie Lee Smith was young when she married Bennie Collins. She was in her teens when she gave birth to two sons, Aaron (1924) and James (1926). She divorced Bennie Collins and later married Louis McGee. Together the couple had three more children: Louis McGee, Jr., Magnolia McGee, and Michael McGee. All of James Collins’ siblings have now passed. The last survivor was half-sister, Magnolia McGee, who passed away the 25th of November 2021. Rosie Lee’s family and her elder sister Evangeline’s family grew up in homes adjacent to one another. They were close. Evangeline’s daughter, Mary Alice Washington (Chiles) Hendricks (mother of Lori Hendricks who helped us piece the story together), was an only child and considered her cousins James (who was nine years older) and Aaron (eleven years older) like big brothers. She, in turn, was James Collins’ favorite cousin. He was such an important person in her life that when James would come around, young Mary Alice would interrupt her meal to rush out and greet him. It was the left-handed Collins with the nice penmanship that taught his cousin Mary Alice how to write in cursive. And it was Mary Alice who had to read the telegram to her aunt Rosie Lee informing her that James had not survived the sinking. Collins enlisted on 29 April 1942 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The family had visited New Orleans on multiple occasions. The B&O railroad that connected Meridian, MS to New Orleans, LA was near their home. James first came aboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35) on 4 October 1943 from CINCPAC as a Steward’s Mate Second Class. He was promoted to Steward’s Mate First Class one year later, on 1 October 1944. He was 19 years old when the ship was sunk. James Collins was brought on board as part of the Flag Allowance for additional crew members while Indianapolis served as Admiral Spruance’s flagship. He participated in eight of the ten battles for which Indy received Battle Stars for meritorious service. When Battle Stations were called, Collins may have had gunnery support duty in the pivotal Gilbert Islands campaign in November and December of 1943, the Marshall Island Operations in late January through early March 1944, the Asiatic-Pacific Raids 30 March to 1 April 1944, Marianas Operation and Battle of Philippine Sea in June through early August 1944, Iwo Jima Operation from mid-February to early March 1945, and the Battle for Okinawa and kamikaze attack on 31 March 1945. All the battles were critical to the war effort in the Pacific under the flagship leadership of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. | |
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 | James S. COLLINS, STM1-Steward's Mate First Class, was one of 28 African-American men who were members of the Steward Branch, the only division on the ship in which there was not a single survivor. The restricted duties of the Steward Branch were to serve the officers of the ship, including the admiral's and captain's wardrooms, dining areas and sleeping quarters. The services were essential to the smooth and efficient running of Indianapolis. Many of Indianapolis's African-American crew members voluntarily performed duties as gunners' mates, assigned to a specific battle station as one complete unit. More details about the valuable service of these men can be found by reading the book: 'Heroes in the Shadows: The Untold Story of the African American Sailors Aboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35)', by Jane Gwinn Goodall, with contributions from Janice Alston and Arlene Taylor (Henry Jackson, StM1), Jeanette Pitts, M.D. (Albert Rice, StM1), and Jacqueline Dugan and Ernestine Peete (Magellan Williams, StM1). |
