Sergeant Collins was a member of the VHF Platoon, 2nd Signal Company, 2nd Infantry Division. He was wounded in action breaking through a road block near Kunu-ri, North Korea and was listed as Missing in Action on 30 November 1950. He was presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Collins was awarded the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.