Anne Collins
Master of Arms,
Marine Airbase
Anne Collins
Sergeant, USMC
1943–1945
Pvt. Anne Collins
Edenton, NC, 1944
As soon as they announced the Marines were looking for a few good women, I joined the United States Marine Corps….We got our basic training in a Marine atmosphere at a Marine post.
I was born in 1921, and grew up in Buffalo, New York. After high school, I did go to college for a bit in Buffalo, but I flunked out. I had the best time until, at the end of two years, they told me to go home. It was probably the worst thing I did in my life. My parents had to tell people I was no longer in college. I was afraid my dad was really going to blow his top, but he didn’t. I had this great opportunity and I blew it.
As soon as they announced the Marines were looking for a few good women, I joined the United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve in 1943. The plan was for women to replace male Marines in clerical or logistical positions and work as mechanics on airplanes, essentially to “Free a Marine to Fight”. It was not an auxiliary—we were Marines and proud of it.
We went to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for boot camp. There was a part of the base that was not used and they dressed it up for us, but not much. It took a little getting used to. The bathrooms had urinals and there were no doors on the bathroom stalls. We got our basic training in a Marine atmosphere at a Marine post. There were about 100 women at Lejeune at the time. In 1943, Marine recruiting brochures promised women openings in 34 job assignments, but final statistics at the end of the war recorded we worked in over 225 different specialties, filling 85% of the enlisted jobs at Marine Corps Headquarters, comprising one-half to two-thirds of the permanent personnel at major Marine Corps posts.
During boot camp I was the Assistant to the Commanding Officer of the Women Marines. I was also the Sergeant of Arms for the barracks. After boot camp, I served as the Master of Arms to the Recreation Officer while stationed at Edenton, North Carolina, an airbase for squadrons of fighter planes. I was in for two years, got married, got pregnant and got out. My husband was in the Navy and we met on base. He was the sweetest man. He stayed in the Navy for three more years as he was concerned about the job market after the war. We traveled west, had children in California, and were stationed all over. When he retired, we came to San Antonio—his home.
We both went to college. I got a degree and taught American History for 19 years at Alamo Heights High School. I served 10 years as President of the San Antonio Rose Chapter of the Women Marines Association. I became involved with Memories on Review with Sister Germaine who was Head of the Theatre Department at Incarnate Word University. She had interviewed WWII veterans and would go out to high schools and project pictures of the WWII veterans and someone would tell their story. I was the only one that told my personal story and the kids flocked to me. I was very honored to be the Grand Marshal of San Antonio’s 13th Annual Veterans Parade held on November 10th, 2012, the Marine Corps’ Birthday. {05-23-2016 • San Antonio, TX}
