General Clifton Bledsoe Cates 1895-1970 United States Marine Corps

Side A: Born in Cates Landing, Tennessee, on August 31, 1893, Clifton B. Cates attended school in Tiptonville and the Missouri Military Academy in Mexico, Missouri. While excelling in varsity football and baseball, he received his law degree from the University of Tennessee in 1916. His early Marine service included combat commander duties in World War I and World War II. Wounded seven times in World War I, Cares received over thirty American and foreign medals. In 1942, he led the First Marine Regiment, First Marine Division on Guadalcanal. Side B: Major General Cates commanded the Fourth Marine Division during the conquest of Tinian and Iwo Jima in 1944. From 1948 to 1952, General Cates served as the 19th Commandant of the Marine Corps. The first Tennessean to achieve the rank of full general, he was highly commended for his military service during the Korean War. General Cates died on June 4, 1970 in Annapolis, Maryland. A Marine for thirty-seven years, his body was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.