Did you know…tomorrow (May 8, 2025) is the 80th anniversary of World War II’s Victory in Europe (VE) Day?! Memorial Day approaches on May 26th. This is the perfect month to highlight an exceptional collection in the History Center’s archives, the photographs from the World War II-era scrapbooks of Colonel John Duty Collins Jr. The photographs preserved in this collection are special because they contain images of subjects that range from delightfully quotidian to emotionally charged.
John Duty Collins Jr. flew combat missions in Europe during World War II as a B-17 pilot and Operations Officer of the 305th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force of the Army Air Corps. He was stationed at the heavy bomber airfield near Chelveston, England, for 2 1/2 years (April, 1942-Oct, 1945). During his time in Chelveston, he accumulated photographs which chronicled the daily life of the airmen, including time spent in the briefing room, preparing for and returning from missions.
Mixed among Collins’ humorous photos that show the soldiers in high jinks and high spirits, such as the crew known as “the Cocktail Kids” grinning in front of their plane, the “Dry Martini,” which was named for its pilot Allen V. Martini, are somber reminders of the cost of war. The photos of burial services in 1944 at a newly-opened American battlefield cemetery, the American Military Cemetery in Margraten, Holland (now known as the Netherlands American Cemetery) are hauntingly beautiful. American flag-draped coffins are visible along with row upon row of white wooden crosses or stars of David, with lines of soldiers paying their respects.
On V-E day, May 8, 1945, when Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies, John Duty Collins took a photographer with him to fly over European cities and capture on film the way they looked on that day in history. The group’s B-17’s were known as low-time bombers, able to perform low-altitude operations, and the aerial yet close-up views of parades and processions in European town squares make that capability astonishingly apparent.
The 305th Bombardment Group stayed at Chelveston until July 1945, when it relocated to Army Air Field A-92, St . Trond, Belgium, as a part of the “Casey Jones Project,” the name given to the US Army Air Corps’ “post-hostilities” aerial mapping project for Iceland, Europe, and North Africa from June 1945 to December 1946. The 305th (also known as the “Can-Do”) Bomb Group was specially chosen to be part of this mission, along with the 306th Bomb Group, because of its reputation for grit and innovation. In 1943 and 1944, it had earned Distinguished Unit Citations in Paris and Halberstadt. Under Colonel Curtis LeMay the 305th Bomb Group had introduced flying formations and bombing procedures that became standard operating procedures for the Eighth Air Force. The 305th also had more B-17s, with their proven low-altitude capabilities, assigned to them than any other bomb group.
The 305th stayed in St. Trond until December 1945, when it moved to Lechfeld, Germany, its last move until it was inactivated in December 1946. The photos John Duty Collins had taken or collected during this time, both from the air as part of the mapping project and on the ground documenting the group’s post-war life in Europe, add to the remarkable collection. The photos highlight both the architectural treasures of Europe that steadfastly remained, as well as the tremendous losses in the heaps of rubble that comprised formerly grand cities.
John Duty Collins, Jr. served 33 years as a career officer in the Air Force, retiring in 1973 after service in the Pentagon. He passed away in Arlington, VA in 2003.
If you are interested in World War topics, please attend one of our monthly World War Tuesdays coffee and conversation programs at the Bossier Central Library Complex every second Tuesday of the month at 10:30 AM. The program on Tuesday, May 13th will feature slides of photos from the Col. John Duty Collins, Jr. Collection and more information about the history of the 305th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force and its birds eye view of VE Day and its aftermath.
The Bossier Parish Central Library and History Center is located at 7204 Hutchison Drive (formerly called 850 City Hall Drive) just across Beckett Street from the old Central Library and History Center in Bossier City, LA. Our hours are M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org For other local history facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, @bplhistorycenter on TikTok, and check out our blog http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/.
Images:
- Two unidentified soldiers smiling while boating for recreation. They are likely from the 305th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force of the Army Air Corps, which was stationed at the heavy bomber airfield near Chelveston, England during WWII. Photo from the John Duty Collins Collection at the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center
- American military standing at attention. Photo is believed to have been taken just after VE-Day in France in 1945. Photo from the John Duty Collins Collection at the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center
- Photo of funeral services for American military personnel in the American Military Cemetery, Margraten Holland. C. 1944. Photo from the John Duty Collins Collection at the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center
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