Editing Michael Collins (astronaut) (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Targa ricordo Michael Collins.jpg|thumb|left|upright|1969 commemorative plaque in via Tevere, Rome, marking Collins' birthplace]]
Michael Collins was born on October 31, 1930, in [[Rome]], Italy.<ref name="ushof" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/740566main_current.pdf#page=42|title=Astronaut Fact Book|date=April 2013|publisher=NASA|access-date=April 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829113430/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/740566main_current.pdf|archive-date=August 29, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> He was the second son of [[James Lawton Collins]],{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=344–345}} a career [[U.S. Army]] officer, who was the U.S. [[military attaché]] there from 1928 to 1932, and Virginia C. Collins ({{nee}} Stewart).{{sfn|Cullum|1940|p=197}} Collins had an older brother, [[James Lawton Collins Jr.]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-may-12-me-collins12-story.html|title=James Collins Jr., 84; General, Military Historian|last=Barnes|first=Bart|date=May 12, 2002|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=October 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150828234503/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/may/12/local/me-collins12|archive-date=August 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=986}} and two older sisters, Virginia and Agnes. Collins' mother was of [[British People|British]] descent, and his father's family hailed from [[Ireland]].<ref>{{cite book|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=ExkCU3lnBhIC|title =The First Men on the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11|first =David M.|last =Harland|author-link =David M. Harland|publisher =Springer Science & Business Media|date =2007|page =11|isbn =978-0387495446}}</ref>{{rp|11}}

For the first 17 years of his life, Collins [[Military brat|lived in many places]] as the Army posted his father to different locations: Rome; [[Oklahoma]]; [[Governors Island]], [[New York (state)|New York]]; [[Fort Hoyle]] (near [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]]); [[Fort Hayes]] (near [[Columbus, Ohio]]); [[Puerto Rico]]; [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]]; and [[Alexandria, Virginia]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=344–345}} During his boyhood, Collins was an [[altar server|altar boy]] who served at the [[Washington National Cathedral|National Cathedral]] in Washington DC,{{sfn|Collins|2001|p=410}} but in his own words, he was "probably the only astronaut who had never been a Boy Scout".{{sfn|Collins|2001|p=96}} He took his first plane ride in Puerto Rico aboard a [[Grumman Widgeon]]; the pilot allowed him to fly it for a portion of the flight. He wanted to fly again, but since [[World War II]] started soon after, he was unable.{{sfn|Collins|1994|p=12}} He studied for two years in the [[Academia del Perpetuo Socorro]] in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]].<ref>''San Juan's Young King Who Climbed to the Moon''. 1969 ''[[Congressional Record]]'', Vol. 115, Pages [https://archive.org/details/congressionalrec115kunit H25639-H25640] (September 16, 1969). Retrieved November 26, 2015.</ref>

After the United States entered World War II, the family moved to [[Washington, D.C.]], where Collins attended [[St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.)|St. Albans School]] and graduated in 1948.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1977/05/10/ferdinand-ruge-st-albans-english-master-dies/7904e6d7-cce8-4c6f-91f8-8618985a65d7/|title=Ferdinand Ruge, St. Albans English Master, Dies|last1=Bonner|first1=Alice|date=May 10, 1977|access-date=April 11, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430182616/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1977/05/10/ferdinand-ruge-st-albans-english-master-dies/7904e6d7-cce8-4c6f-91f8-8618985a65d7/|archive-date=April 30, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=344–345}} His mother wanted him to enter the [[diplomatic service]],{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=344–345}} but he decided to follow his father, two uncles, brother, and cousin into the armed services. He received an appointment to the [[United States Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York]], from which his father and his older brother had graduated in 1907 and 1939 respectively.{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=986}} He graduated on June 3, 1952, with a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[military science]],{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|p=599}} finishing 185th of 527 cadets in the class, which included future fellow astronaut [[Ed White (astronaut)|Ed White]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=344–345}}{{sfn|Cullum|1960|p=605}}

Collins' decision to join the [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) was motivated by both the wonder of what the next fifty years might bring in [[aeronautics]], and to avoid accusations of [[nepotism]] had he joined the Army—where his brother was already a [[colonel (United States)|colonel]], his father had reached the rank of [[Major general (United States)|major general]] and his uncle, [[General (United States)|General]] [[J. Lawton Collins]] (1896–1987), was the [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army]].{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=7–8}} The [[United States Air Force Academy|Air Force Academy]], still under construction, would not graduate its first class for several years. In the interim, graduates of the Military Academy were eligible for Air Force commissions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.military.com/history/air-force-col-michael-collins.html|title=Air Force Col. Michael Collins|publisher=Military.com|last1=Patrick|first1=Bethany Kelly|access-date=May 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503185919/https://www.military.com/history/air-force-col-michael-collins.html|archive-date=May 3, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Promotion was slower in the Air Force than in the Army, due to the large number of young officers who had been commissioned and promoted during World War II.{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=7–8}}