Collins, Thomas E., 1937-

Lt. Col. Collins was born in Utica, Mississippi in 1937. He attended Mississippi State University, participated in the Air Force ROTC program, and was commissioned in the Air Force upon graduation in 1959. After training, he was assigned to an F-102 squandron in Holland. He briefly returned to the United States to train on the E-4 Phantom before going to Korat Air Force Base in Thailand. After flying 34 successful missions in Vietnam, he was shot down and captured. He spent seven years as a prisoner of war. He taught in the University of Southern Mississippi ROTC program before retiring from military service in 1980. He has served as the executive director of the Mississippi Veteran's Farm and Home Board, assistant secretary for Veteran's Employment and Training in the U.S. Department of Labor, and on the board of directors of The Institute for International Commerce.

Lt. Col. Collins and his wife, Donnie, both were born in Utica, Miss. In 1965, the Lt. Col. was captured by the North Vietnamese and spent seven years as a POW in Hanoi. During that time, Mrs. Collins was active in organizing and lobbying for families of POW/MIA soldiers. After an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1988, Lt. Col. Collins accepted a position in the U.S. Department of Labor, which focused on verteran's issues, and the family moved to Washington, DC for three years.