General Clifton Bledsoe Cates,
19th Commandant of the Marine Corps, was born
on 31 August 1893 in Tiptonville, Tennessee. After
elementary education in country schools, he was
sent to the Missouri Military Academy, where he
became an honor student and a four-letter man
in sports. His Bachelor of Laws degree was obtained
at the University of Tennessee in 1916. On 13
June 1917, as a second lieutenant in the reserves,
he reported for active duty at the Marine Barracks,
Port Royal, South Carolina, and sailed for France
the following January.
As
a young lieutenant with the 6th Marine Regiment
in World War I, he fought in the Verdun defensive
sector, at Bouresches and Belleau Wood in the
Aisne defensive, at Soissons in the Aisne-Marne
offensive, in the Marbache sector of the St. Mihiel
offensive and in the Blanc Mont and Argonne-Forest
engagements of the Meuse-Argonne offensive. He
was awarded the Navy Cross, Army Distinguished
Service Cross and an Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu
of a second
Distinguished Service Cross for heroism in the
Bouresches and Belleau Wood fighting, in which
he was both gassed and wounded. He earned the
Silver Star Medal at Soissons, where he was wounded
a second time, and an Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu
of a second Silver Star Medal in the Blanc Mont
fighting.
Apart from those decorations and
the Purple Heart Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster,
the French Government recognized his heroism with
the Legion of Honor and the Crois de Guerre with
Gilt Star and two palms. He also was cited twice
in the general orders of the 2nd Division, American
Expeditionary Force (AEF), and once by the Commanding
General, AEF, and was entitled to wear the Fourragere
awarded the 6th Marines.
After
participating in the occupation of Germany, 1stLt
Cates returned to the United States in September
1919, and during the next year, he served in Washington,
D.C., as a White House aide and Aide-de-Camp to
the Commandant of the Marine Corps. He then served
at San Francisco, California, as Aide-de-Camp
to the Commanding General, Department of the Pacific,
from October 1920 until June 1923, when he began
a tour of sea duty as commander of the Marine
Detachment aboard the USS California.
That assignment was completed in April 1925. A
month later, he began a year of service with the
4th Marine Regiment at San Diego, California.
In March 1928, after serving on
recruiting duty at Spokane, Washington, and Omaha,
Nebraska, Capt Cates was named a member of the
American Battle Monuments Commission at Washington.
He served in that capacity until May 1929 then
was ordered to Shanghai, China, where he rejoined
the 4th Marines. Three years later he was detached
from that regiment to return to Washington D.C.
for study in the Army Industrial College.
Completing
his course in June 1933, Maj Cates reported the
following month to Quantico, where he served with
the 7th Marines and completed the Senior Course
in the Marine Corps Schools. He returned again
to Washington D.C. in September 1935 and was assigned
to the War Plans Section of the Division of Operations
and Training at Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC).
In August 1937, LtCol Cates sailed
for Shanghai as a battalion commander with the
6th Marine Regiment, serving with that unit until
he rejoined the 4th Marines in March 1938. Again
the following year, he was brought back to Washington
for instruction in the Army War College. That
course was completed in June 1940, and he reported
the next month to the Philadelphia Navy Yard as
Director of the Marine Officers Basic School.
In May of 1942, Col Cates took
command of the 1st Marines, which he led at Guadalcanal.
After commanding the 1st Marines in the Guadalcanal-Tulagi
landings and the capture and defense of Guadalcanal,
he fought as commander of the 4th Marine Division
in the Marianas operation, the Tinian campaign
and the seizure of Iwo Jima. He won the Legion
of Merit with Combat “V,” at Guadalcanal,
the Distinguished Service Medal at Tinian and
a Gold Star in lieu of a second Distinguished
Service Medal at Iwo Jima
With the invaluable experience
obtained in that campaign, Col Cates was returned
to the United States the following March for his
first tour of duty as Commandant of the Marine
Corps Schools at Quantico. He continued in that
capacity until June 1944. The following month
he took command of the 4th Marine Division, leading
that organization in the Pacific theater until
the end of the war.
Ordered back to the United States
in December of 1945, MajGen Cates became President
of the Marine Corps Equipment Board at Quantico,
holding that position for six months before he
was named Commanding General of the Marine Barracks,
Quantico. He held that command until 1 January
1948, when he was advanced to the rank of general
and sworn in as Commandant of the Marine Corps.
At the outbreak of the Korean
War in June 1950, despite the Marine Corps being
down in strength to 75,000 officers and men, the
1st Provisional Marine Brigade was on its way
to South Korea within nine days. Carrying out
his predecessor's objective of obtaining a well-defined
statutory position for the Marine Corps, Gen Cates
contributed to the passage of Public Law 416,
which set the Corps' active strength at three
divisions and three aircraft wings. Also during
his tenure as Commandant, he directed the Marine
Corps in the development of a doctrine for the
employment of helicopters in vertical envelopment
and a practical test of their use in the Korean
War.
When Gen Cates completed his four-year
term as Commandant, he reverted to the rank of
lieutenant general and began his second tour as
Commandant of the Marine Corps Schools, Quantico.
He retired on 30 June 1954 after two and a half
years with the schools and was again promoted
to general.
General Cates died 4 June 1970
at the U.S. Naval Hospital, Annapolis, Maryland,
after a long illness. He was buried with full
military honors on 8 June 1970 at Arlington National
Cemetery.
One of the few officers of any
service who had commanded a platoon, a company,
a battalion, a regiment and a division under fire,
he won nearly 30 decorations. In addition to the
decorations already mentioned, Gen Cates’
medals and decorations include: the Presidential
Unit Citation ribbon with three bronze stars (Guadalcanal,
Tinian and Iwo Jima); the World War I Victory
Medal with Aisne, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne
and Defensive Sector clasps; the Army of Occupation
of Germany Medal; the Expeditionary Medal (China-1929-1931);
the Yangtze Service Medal (Shanghai-1930-1931);
the China Service Medal (China-1937-1939); the
American Defense Service Medal; the Asiatic-Pacific
Area Campaign Medal with one silver star in lieu
of five bronze stars; the American Area Campaign
Medal; the World War II Victory Medal; the National
Defense Service Medal and the Netherlands Order
of the Orange Nassau with crossed swords and rank
of Grand Officer.
General Cates also held doctorial
law degrees from the University of Tennessee and
the University of Chattanooga.
UNITED
STATES MARINE CORPS
