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| Pvt. Collins Foster served in 332nd Fighter Group, before it was deployed to the Mediterranean. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/161424296/collins-james-foster https://picclick.com/Squadron-Patch-332Nd-Fighter-Group-12Th-15Th-121209965758.html http://pioneersofflight.si.edu/content/tuskegee-airmen |
Collins James Foster never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 5, 1918 in Tennessee. His parents Collins and Willie were also both born in Tennessee. His father worked as a chauffeur and later as a truck driver and a janitor. Collins was an only child. His mother lived to be 98 years old. By 1940 Collins had moved out and was living with his mother's parents. He worked as a laborer and had completed two years of college.
He was drafted into the army on July 23, 1942 and then volunteered to serve in the Army Air Forces. He became a private in the 332nd Fighter Group stationed at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama. In the segregated armed forces of 1940's America, this air unit gave blacks to chance to serve in combat roles instead of the support roles they were generally limited to.
Pvt. Foster died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen in Nashville, Tennessee on July 31, 1943. I was not able to find out any additional details.
His grave is at Toussaint L'Ouverture Cemetery in Franklin, Tennessee.
Last year on this date I profiled Cpl. Leslie Sergeant, a 1st Marine Division leatherneck who served from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa. You can read about Leslie here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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