Mel Collins Becomes Part of Illinois History
earning Mel the Bronze Star as well as the Navy and Marine Corps medal for his World War II career.
The Illinois Veterans History Project was founded by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White in 2005. The project honors Illinois veterans by documenting the memories of their wartime experiences so that future generations have a better understanding and appreciation of their sacrifices. Since the project started, more than 5,500 Illinoisans have contributed oral and written histories.
Mel has worked with alumni in the NUHS Office of Admissions for 29 years. He was honored by the university in 2008 with an honorary doctor of laws degree during commencement ceremonies, and was inducted into the university's Hall of Honor in 2001.
Mel's experiences on the USS Franks as Radarman third class have brought him additional recognition. In 2012, he was chosen to join the Chicago Honor Flight to Washington, DC, which recognizes WWII veterans with a one-day tour of historic monuments and capital sights. His story was discovered by writer Brian T. Murphy and published in a national veterans magazine in 2011. You can read it here on the NUHS website. And in 2014, a brick bearing Mel's name and those of other shipmates from the USS Franks was placed in a walkway leading to the Admiral Nimitz Museum, part of the Pacific War Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas.
National University is proud of Mel Collins' heroic role in our national history and his longtime dedication to the institution and its alumni.
Melvin Collins, National University alumni outreach coordinator, recently recorded an oral history of his WWII experiences for the Illinois Veterans' History Project that will be placed in the Illinois Digital Archives and the Library of Congress Veterans History Project.
During the video session the decorated Navy veteran recounted how he joined the Navy during the war and how his days as a competitive high school swimmer led him to become part of a new naval strategy for performing swimming rescues of downed airmen. Through his efforts and those of his shipmates, his ship rescued 22 pilots,
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Melvin Collins, National University alumni outreach coordinator, recently recorded an oral history of his WWII experiences for the Illinois Veterans' History Project that will be placed in the Illinois Digital Archives and the Library of Congress Veterans History Project.
During the video session the decorated Navy veteran recounted how he joined the Navy during the war and how his days as a competitive high school swimmer led him to become part of a new naval strategy for performing swimming rescues of downed airmen. Through his efforts and those of his shipmates, his ship rescued 22 pilots, earning Mel the Bronze Star as well as the Navy and Marine Corps medal for his World War II career.
The Illinois Veterans History Project was founded by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White in 2005. The project honors Illinois veterans by documenting the memories of their wartime experiences so that future generations have a better understanding and appreciation of their sacrifices. Since the project started, more than 5,500 Illinoisans have contributed oral and written histories.
Mel has worked with alumni in the NUHS Office of Admissions for 29 years. He was honored by the university in 2008 with an honorary doctor of laws degree during commencement ceremonies, and was inducted into the university's Hall of Honor in 2001.
Mel's experiences on the USS Franks as Radarman third class have brought him additional recognition. In 2012, he was chosen to join the Chicago Honor Flight to Washington, DC, which recognizes WWII veterans with a one-day tour of historic monuments and capital sights. His story was discovered by writer Brian T. Murphy and published in a national veterans magazine in 2011. You can read it here on the NUHS website. And in 2014, a brick bearing Mel's name and those of other shipmates from the USS Franks was placed in a walkway leading to the Admiral Nimitz Museum, part of the Pacific War Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas.
National University is proud of Mel Collins' heroic role in our national history and his longtime dedication to the institution and its alumni.