Grandfather Gates was a large, robust man. As a kid he had "run off with the circus" where he "managed" the elephants with Wallace Beery who later became a film actor. Grandfather worked for the Postal Service on the railroad where he delivered mail from town to town along the railroad route. He was very active in his community in Louisville, KY, especially the church, the Masons, and the Boy Scouts (see the Scouts pictures). He retired to Sarasota, FL. where he lived out his years in a small trailer next to the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus winter quarters. I have little recollection of Grandmother Gates as she passed away when I was very young.

Aunt & Uncles... Aunt Ellen was a grade school teacher in the "inner-city" schools of Louisville. She won many awards and was widely recognized for her innovations in elementary education. She was married to Robert Carnighan. They had two children, my cousins Marry Ellen and Robert "Bobby Hanen" Carnighan.

Uncle Jim... James Gates was the oldest of the Gates' children... he was my Dad's mentor, started him playing golf (I still have the clubs!) and for encouraging Dad to aggressively pursue his Army commission and career. Uncle Jim spent many years at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA where he was Dean of the School of Business. Jim married Harriet and they had cousins Jeff and Patsy.

Uncle George followed Dad into the Army, got his commission and made a career of the service. He was an ordinance officer. George married Callie and they had cousin George "Corky" Gates, III

My Mother's family, the Irwins, were from Elizabethtown, Kentucky (E-town as it was affectionately called), about 45 miles south of Louisville and the home of Fort Knox, the U.S. Army Post. The Irwin family included her father,Virgil B., mother Mrs. Klara Irwin, and daughters Thelma, Gladys, and my Mom Mary Generose. The depression was hard on the family and they were quite poor.

My Dad started his career in the military in the Army Air Corps and was stationed at Ft. Knox. He married my mother in 1939. Early on during WWII he was offered a commission and was transferred to Washington, DC where he worked at the Pentagon. They found an apartment in Alexandria, VA. I was born on 30 March, 1944 at Walter Reade Army Hospital.

Dad was a Transportation Corps officer and his specialty was administration and moving soldiers and supplies around the world. As a result he never saw "real combat". He did do an "un-accompanied" tour in the Philippines and Japan where he got to chase smugglers around the Port of Manilla. During that time Mom and I lived in Elizabethtown.

Have a look at pictures from those years by clicking the link below...

After his un-accompanied (we stayed in E-Town) assignment to the Philippines and Japan, my Dad was given an assignment at the Presidio in San Francisco where he "managed the movement" of Allied troops and materials all over the Far East after WWII and the Japanese Surrender. We lived at 2547 42nd Ave, San Francisco, CA... in a house right on the San Andreas Fault...

It wasn't long before he was re-assigned to Heidelberg Germany and we went with him. We sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. In addition to being responsible for moving troops (and war-brides) states-side, he participated in the Berlin Airlift which contributed to the survival of the residents of Berlin after the Soviets cut the city off from the rest of Germany.

In Heidelberg, rather than living in government quarters we lived 'on the economy' - in civilian German housing - at 50 Keplerstrasse, Apt D -- Johann (?) who owned the home was the "fireman" - the maintenance man who managed the coal-burning furnace. Elizabeth was our maid... I have fond memories of them both.

As a result of living in the community I had many German playmates. I have been told that I spoke better German than English at one point. I went to kindergarten "on post" at Campbell Barracks and participated in the yearly play, "Snow White"... Mom made my costume...

My Mom's folks passed away in 1949 and she and I sailed to the United States... needless to say we did not make the funeral.

Not long before my Dad was transferred back to the States he and I made a quick tour covering many European Countries in less than a week. I remember the dikes and wooden shoes in Holland and the staggering immensity of the Alps in Switzerland... and the trip to the resort with "Snow White", Linda Catron... Mom was hospitalized during the trip for a reason I can't remember.

My brother Steve was born eight weeks (15 May 1950) before we returned to the United States on the USNS Maurice Rose

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Although Dad left Germany in good health he was so incapacitated by arthritis by the time we got to the United States he needed to be carried off the ship on a stretcher. His assignments for the next several years were mostly about stationing him close to an outstanding Army Hospital.

We went first to Williamsburg, VA, close to Ft. Eustis, VA. We lived in the middle of the historic town (not far from the public stocks), I went to the first grade there. From there Dad was transferred to Pine Bluff Arsenel, southeast of Little Rock, AK, and then quickly to The Army-Navy Hospital in Hot Springs, AK where his arthritis was treated with the hot baths.

In 1952, having recovered somewhat, Dad was transferred to Ft. Geo G. Meade, MD, located about equidistance from Washington DC and Baltimore, MD. We lived on Post in quarters in the Air-Strip area... the perfect place for boys... there were creeks and 'caves' and all sorts of places to play. I was to return to Ft. Meade 14 years later when I was assigned to the US Army Field Band

Late in 1953 Dad wad transferred to Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX, home of Brook Army Medical Center, the second largest Army hospital after Walter Reade Hospital in D.C.,

• Four Generations of men from the Gates Family
  Grandfather, Father, Uncle, Cousin, Nephew, Son, Grandson, GreatGrandSon

• Dad and Doris... How a Marriage is supposed to work!
  Dad & Doris - 'A Fine Romance'

• Special People in My Life
  My Son, John L. Gates, III
  Meet My Brother, Stephen Gates

  You may have seen many of these people elsewhere in this "John Gates Visual Retrospective"... here they are together in one presentation... family and special friends....

  Special Family & Friends

• The End of an Era... My Father Passes...
  Dinner Celebrating my Father's Life

  Dad's Funeral at Arlington National Cemetery