Sergeant Garland Woodrow Collier
Today we honor and remember Sergeant Collier of the 101st Airborne Division.
Garland Woodrow Collier was born on November 3, 1918, in Novice, Texas, a small community near the larger ‘small town’ of Coleman, Texas.
His parents were Abner Belcher Collier and Abbie Morris Ralph Collier. They had come to the Coleman area in the early 1900’s, moving from the piney woods of East Texas out to the plains farther west. Garland was the youngest of seven surviving siblings, all of whom loved and treasured him as the youngest child in the family.
Garland Collier became a member of HQ 3rd battalion 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division after Normandy, and jumped into the area of Son, Holland, behind enemy lines on September 17, 1944, as part of the Operation Market-Garden assault.
Within a day, Eindhoven had been liberated, the targeted bridges had been secured, and the 506th and 3rd BN, along with various other paratrooper, infantry and engineer battalion forces, went about the business of marching toward Arnhem.
Along with the 82nd Airborne, the 101st Airborne Division was attached to British command forces as they continued their mission. They were engaged in costly fighting for over 70 days in this campaign along what became known as “Hell’s Highway,” securing various small villages and towns along the way.
During the period of October 3-5, 1944, Garland and his battalion were attached in support of “H” Company; their unit was hit particularly hard here in the area called “The Island,” surrounded by the Rhine (Neder Rijn) and Waal Rivers, in the town of Opheusden.
Garland and his LMG platoon were engaged in fierce combat in the field near the railroad station, where he, along with several of his buddies, were lost on October 5th, 1944. Older and more mature than most of the guys with whom he fought, Garland was age 25 when he died — seven weeks away from his 26th birthday and making the supreme sacrifice while fighting until the end.
Fellow LMG buddies from his unit, PVT Darvin Lee and CPL Andrew T. Bryan Jr., were next to Garland when he took mortar fire, and they witnessed his death. They helped to prepare his body for graves registration officers who were to follow behind them. They retrieved a Luger pistol, a war ‘souvenir’ that Garland had on his person, prior to leaving him, hoping to be able to turn it over to a member of Garland’s family at some point in the future. The overwhelming German attack made sure that the registration officers could not reach Sgt. Garland and his body was lost to the Germans.
After the battle, his remains were interned at the civilian cemetery in Opheusden, only to be found in 1946. The grave registration teams were not able to identify the remains so they brought him to the Ardennes Cemetery at Neupre Condroz, as they had a X-ray station which might help to identify the remains.
Amazingly, Garland’s older brother, M-SGT Grady A. Collier, met up with Darvin Lee when the 506th PIR had returned from Holland to Mourmelon, France, and Darvin was able to hand the Luger over Garland’s brother and tell him the story of Garland’s death in Opheusden. Darvin Lee survived the war, married the girl whom he met in England, and still lives today in Oregon.
When I first spoke to him, he mentioned that he did not realize that Garland hadn’t been buried until he made his first trip years later to Margraten, and saw Garland’s name on the Tablets of the Missing.
In researching Garland’s service during the past few years, I have been privileged to establish correspondence with then, 1LT William P. Wedeking, Garland’s jumpmaster on the drop into Holland, and his immediate commander during that time.
1LT William P. Wedeking had survived the war, served as a career Army man, saw more action in the Korean theatre (where he was wounded), retired as a Captain, and now lives in North Carolina. He has been a tremendous source of information regarding the 3rd BN 506 and Garland’s unit from before D-Day, during Operation Market Garden, and up until SGT. Collier’s death.
Other 101st Airborne Division Veterans with whom I’ve been privileged to speak are George Koskimaki and Fred Bahlau. Although George and Fred were not in Garland’s specific unit or company, they were inspirations and provided great direction in research efforts.
In tracking down another buddy of Garland’s, Thomas Bucher, a fellow LMG in the HQ-3-506, I was able to exchange a few emails with him over the course of a couple of years prior to his recent death. Tom recalled what a great guy Garland was, “always smiling, always in control of whatever our task was…you can tell ‘Tex’s’ family that I was proud to serve with him.”
Shortly after SGT. Garland’s Collier’s death on the battlefield, it was reported that Baptist services were conducted in his honor prior to his burial in an American military cemetery. This information was based on correspondence sent to Garland’s family from Col Robert F. Sink, Commanding Officer, 506th PIR, and on specific details in his U.S. Army IDPF (“Individual Deceased Personnel File”). However, Garland’s actual gravesite or resting place was obviously never properly identified. Thus, there was never an opportunity for his remains to be returned to his family in Texas. There is much speculation as to what actually happened to Garland’s remains, and until recently, the truth was a mystery!
His brother Grady initiated Army investigations into efforts to locate his remains after the war’s end, but official Army correspondence, based on their accumulated records, reports and subsequent investigations, ultimately deemed Garland’s remains as “non-recoverable.”
His family continued to work with various organizations, both here and in the Netherlands, as well as with the US Department of Defense’s JPAC (Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command) posted at Hickam AFB, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for the continued search of Garland’s remains.
JPAC had an open, active case file on Sgt. Collier and they continued to be alerted regarding any connections that may be established from their various team investigations, research studies, and digs in that area of Europe. The search continued for his remains, hoping one day he could be returned home.
Garland was memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing in the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten. A family memorial was also erected in his honor in the White Chapel Community Cemetery, Coleman, Texas, between the graves of his parents. He is memorialized at the World War II Memorial, Washington, DC, and he is also honored on a memorial plaque erected in 1999, in Opheusden, Netherlands.
Many years later I was informed about a new and surprising development from his family.
The Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced on June 24, 2022, that Sgt. Garland W. Collier was accounted for on June 15, 2022.
On September 23rd, 2022, this official press release was communicated.
PRESS RELEASE | Sept. 23, 2022
Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Collier, G.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. Garland W. Collier, 25, of Coleman, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for June 15, 2022.
In the fall of 1944, Collier was assigned to Headquarters Co., 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He was reported killed in action during Operation MARKET GARDEN when his unit was attacked by German forces near Opheusden, The Netherlands. His body was unable to be recovered.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, conducted several searches of the area, but by 1950, none of the remains found around Opheusden could be identified as Collier. He was declared non-recoverable in November 1950.
In 2015, DPAA historians began working on a comprehensive research and recovery project focused on those missing from Operation MARKET GARDEN. During that work, they analyzed information about X-3324 Neuville, an unknown set of remains recovered from the civilian cemetery in Opheusden in 1946 and buried in what is today known as Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium.
Following a multidisciplinary analysis from DPAA historians, forensic anthropologists, and odontologists, it was determined X-3324 could possibly be Collier. These remains were disinterred in April 2019 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.
To identify Collier’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Collier’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margarten, Netherlands, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Collier was buried Nov. 12, 2022, in his hometown.
His remains were found after 78 years of being missing in action. On July 22nd, 2022, a rosette was placed in front of his name on the wall of the missing at War Cemetery Margraten, signifying he was finally found.
For many years, I’ve been interested in his story and communicated with his family, who became great friends of mine.
Rest in Peace Sgt. Garland Collier. 🇺🇸
You are finally home and with your family.
This article is courtesy of Sgt. Collier’s family and Ronald Stassen.
About Ronald Stassen
Ronald Stassen is an author and professional Battlefield Tour Guide from Maastricht, Netherlands. He leads many tours for returning veterans and their families in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Ronald has befriended and interviewed hundreds of World War II Veterans, ensuring he keeps their heroic legacies and stories alive. He is involved in many WWII projects with an expert focus on the 101st Airborne Division.
The Eagles of Bastogne: The Untold Story of the Heroic Defense of a City Under Siege by Martin King, Michael Collins, Lt. Patrick Seeling, Ronald Stassen.
Lest we forget!!