Private First Class Collier was a member of Company H, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. He was Killed in Action while defending the company's position against a vicious Chinese night attack near Hagaru-ri, North Korea on 29 November 1950.

Collier was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, 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.