His service on the USS Blue DD 744
Lt. C. C. Collie, Jr. was a member of the commissioning crew of Blue DD 744. The members of a commissioning crew are known as “Plank Owners”. He was assigned to the ship in the summer of 1943. He attended Radar Training Schools in Virginia, Georgia and Florida prior to reporting to the ship for commissioning in March, 1944, and subsequently at a Radar Training School in Pearl Harbor. During World War II, he was the Communication Officer, Combat Information Center Officer and Radar Officer on Blue.
He enlisted in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corp in September, 1940, at the University of Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1943, on the same day, he received his commission in the Navy, an assignment to his ship, USS Blue DD 744 and a Degree in Economics from the Wharton School of Finance, Univ. of Pa.