Gunnery Sergeant Robert I. Cates was one of six children in his family, raised in Oklahoma and Texas. A family that highly regarded military service, his two brothers were veterans of World War II, as were some of his cousins. With his interest already piqued, a friend who joined, as well as a relentless recruiter, really sealed the deal. Robert enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in June 1956.
His first four years as a Marine were spent in ground forces. As a part of the infantry, Cates spent 18 months in the Philippines. “It was a good place to be,” he remembers. “I enjoyed the sunshine, beaches, and people of the Philippines.” In stark contrast, however, he spent three grueling weeks shortly after that in the Sierra Nevada Mountains participating in cold weather combat training. An exercise that Cates remembers as one of the most miserable times of his life, his unit endured -30 degree temperatures during the training and “never felt warm”. Cates was discharged shortly after.
His time back home didn’t last long, though. Cates reenlisted only a year later, this time to pursue aviation operations. In 1963 he married his wife, Rita Darlene Guthrie of Dumas, Texas, and they were able to spend a year together stateside before Cates was assigned to go overseas. The next several years were spent largely in Vietnam, as well as Japan. While in Vietnam, his unit experienced attacks in the night often. Though the first encounter of this kind was an understandably fearful experience, Cates says, “Being with other marines gave me confidence. I was never scared again. I never felt fear except maybe one time when we first went into combat.”
Cates, who can recount harrowing tales of his time in Vietnam – like the two times his helicopter was shot down or the booby traps he sidestepped – flew in 43 combat missions off the Aircraft Carrier USS Valley Forge. He received two air medals for these flights, one for every twenty combat missions. Through it all, he says, “the bullets never hit me.” He recognizes how fortunate he was in his years there and attributes much of this to the prayers of his mother. When his brothers served in WWII, Cates watched her anguish as she prayed for her sons’ protection. With God’s assurance, she prayed expectantly for the safety of her son Robert as well.
When Cates left Vietnam, he received a few more assignments: Training and Operations, Recruiting School, and one more year in Japan as a Squadron Operations Chief. Cates eventually retired from the USMC and returned to the Dallas area where he worked in the U.S. Postal Service for 25 years. He and his wife raised their three children here, moving to Forney in 1978.
“It’s a privilege to serve our Country,” Cates states. “And it’s necessary. I miss it a lot.”
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