caption serviceyears branch commands death_place death_date birth_place allegiance awards placeofburial_label battles birth_date placeofburial nickname rank image article_title name
general j. lawton collins 1917 -- 1956 usa 3rd battalion 22nd infantry 20px washington , d.c. 12 september 1987 new orleans , louisiana united states of america 1908 20px legion of merit 20px bronze star army distinguished service medal 20px silver star 20px place of burial world war ii 1 may 1896 arlington national cemetery `` lightning joe '' 35px general joseph lawton collins.jpg j. lawton collins
 joseph lawton collins
j. lawton collins

joseph `` lightning joe '' lawton collins -lrb- may 1 , 1896 -- september 12 , 1987 -rrb- was army chief of staff during the korean war .
during world war ii , he was an army general , serving in both the pacific and european theaters of operations .
his elder brother , james lawton collins , was also in the army as a major general .
his nephew , michael collins , was the command module pilot on the `` apollo 11 '' mission in 1969 that put the first two men on the moon and would retire as a major general from the air force .
