FRED H. GATES, II, LCDR, USN
Fred Gates, II '54
Lucky Bag
From the 1954 Lucky Bag:
Fred Horatio Gates II
Wilmington, Delaware
Fred Horatio Gates II wandered Annapolis way from Wilmington, Delaware, via Severn Prep School. In the course of his wandering he developed a philosophy which he follows to the letter, "Take it easy, 'cause it's all relative." Nothing presented a problem to Pete. "If it can't be surmounted; then pass it by; it will always come out in the wash.” Pete was on the Freedom crew, participated in company sports, and worked on the Trident staff. Busy with sandpaper or varnish, he was usually found on a spar of the Freedom where he considered how nice it would be if he could supervise instead of demonstrate. Though most of the lads didn't like those high places, Pete would always say, "What's a hundred feet.”
FIELDBALL—3, 2. SOCCER—4. TRIDENT MAGAZINE STAFF—4, 3, 2. BOAT CLUB—3, 2. SAILING—3, 2.
Fred Horatio Gates II
Wilmington, Delaware
Fred Horatio Gates II wandered Annapolis way from Wilmington, Delaware, via Severn Prep School. In the course of his wandering he developed a philosophy which he follows to the letter, "Take it easy, 'cause it's all relative." Nothing presented a problem to Pete. "If it can't be surmounted; then pass it by; it will always come out in the wash.” Pete was on the Freedom crew, participated in company sports, and worked on the Trident staff. Busy with sandpaper or varnish, he was usually found on a spar of the Freedom where he considered how nice it would be if he could supervise instead of demonstrate. Though most of the lads didn't like those high places, Pete would always say, "What's a hundred feet.”
FIELDBALL—3, 2. SOCCER—4. TRIDENT MAGAZINE STAFF—4, 3, 2. BOAT CLUB—3, 2. SAILING—3, 2.
Loss
From the November 1967 issue of Shipmate:
LCdr. Fred H . Gates, USN, died on 19 Aug. as the result of a military aircraft accident in the South China Sea. He was serving as a pilot in Attack Squadron 25 on board USS CORAL SEA. Memorial services were held in the CORAL SEA on the 21st, and in St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Centreville, Md., on the 27th.
LCdr. Gates was born in Wilmington, Del., and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1954. He received flight training at Pensacola, Fla., and Kingsville, Tex., and was designated a naval aviator in 1955. His first flight duty was with VS-32 at the Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, R. I., with succeeding assignments on the Staff, Commander Fleet Air, Quonset Point; the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, Calif.; Experimental Squadron 1 (VX-1), Naval Air Station, Key West, Fla. After promotion to lieutenant commander in 1963 he served with VS-24 at Norfolk, Va., Replacement Air Group 105, NAS Lemoore, Calif. He had served in USS TARAWA, LAKE CHAMPLAIN, WASP, INTREPID before being assigned to Vietmam in CORAL SEA on 25 July of this year, and had flown patrol missions during the Cuban missile crisis.
He is survived by his widow, the former Sandra Perry of Rockland, Me.; a son Paul Douglas 7; three daughters, Stephanie Leigh 11, Terri Elizabeth 8, and Courtney MacLeod 5; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Carleton Gates, all of Centreville, Md.; a sister, Mrs. Sally Louise Herzer of San Diego, Calif., and a brother, MacLeod Douglass Gates of Chestertown, Md.
From a history of Attack Squadron (VA) 25:
19 August While flying practice strikes against targets in the vicinity of Okinawa, LCDR FRED GATES was lost at sea when his A-1 crashed into the sea 1/4-mile behind the ship. His engine failed as he was attempting to land aboard the ship with engine trouble. A memorial service was held on the hanger deck of CORAL SEA on 21 August.
Fred has a memory marker in Arlington National Cemetery.
Memorial Hall Error
Fred is listed on the killed in action panel in the front of Memorial Hall; this is likely based on him being included on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It is, however, still incorrect. According to Coral Sea's deck log, Fred crashed at 24° 59.8' N, 128° 30.6' E — that is over 1,200 nautical miles from Yankee Station, and the crash was in no way related to enemy action.
(Thank you to Chris Williamson of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency for providing additional information on Fred's loss on April 6, 2018.)
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