Artemus Gates Artemus Lamb Gates (November 3, 1895 – June 14, 1976) was an American businessman,

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

, and

Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) was a civilian office of the United States Department of the Navy. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) initially reported to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy and later to the Under Secretary of the ...

in charge of naval aviation efforts in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(December 7, 1941 – June 30, 1945). He also was briefly Undersecretary of the Navy (July 3, 1945 – September 2, 1945). He was, at various times, president of

New York Trust Company The New York Trust Company was a large trust and wholesale-banking business that specialized in servicing large industrial accounts. It merged with the Chemical Corn Exchange Bank and eventually the merged entity became Chemical Bank. History On ...

, and a director of

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

, Middle South Utilities,

Safeway Inc. Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...

, Abercrombie & Fitch Co., and Servo Corp.

Background

A great grandson of lumber baron

Chancy Lamb Chancy Lamb was a pioneer in the lumber industry in Clinton, Iowa. Early life Chancy Lamb was born in Ticonderoga, New York, January 4, 1816. He was the son of Alpheus and Mrs. Sophia (Bailey – Wilkerson) Lamb. His father was a descendant o ...

and a grandson of lumber baron Artemus Lamb, he grew up at "Oakhurst" in

Clinton, Iowa Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,469 as of 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt (also located in Clinton County), was named in honor of the sixth governor of New York, DeWitt Cl ...

. He was graduated from

Hotchkiss School The Hotchkiss School is a coeducational University-preparatory school#North America, preparatory school in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States. Hotchkiss is a member of the Eight Schools Association and Ten Schools Admissions Organization. It i ...

in 1914 and received his B.A. degree as a member of the class of 1918 at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. He was a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

, one of the best known of the

secret societies A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

based at Yale University. Gates was captain-elect of the Yale football team in 1917.

Military service

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

First Yale Unit The First Yale Unit was started by then Yale sophomore F. Trubee Davison in 1915. The First Yale Unit is considered to be the first naval air reserve unit. Davison and 11 other Yale students were fascinated with the possibilities of aviation in g ...

of the

Naval Reserve Flying Corps The Naval Reserve Flying Corps (NRFC) was the first United States Navy reserve pilot procurement program. As part of demobilization following World War I the NRFC was completely inactive by 1922; but it is remembered as the origin of the naval aviat ...

was closely associated with the

. The Yale Unit was often referred to snidely as the millionaire squadron. While training in Florida, the pilots often were wheeled to their planes in wheel chairs pushed by Black porters. Artemus Gates was a member of the Yale Unit. He helped rescue downed fliers, was shot down, taken prisoner by the Germans and escaped. Previous flying experience enabled him to become an ensign in naval aviation in March 1917. He was released from active service in February 1919, as lieutenant-commander. Because of service on the front, Mr. Gates was decorated by the United States government with the

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...

, by Great Britain with the Distinguished Flying Cross, and by France with the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

and was made an officer of the Legion of Honor of France.

Marriage

Gates married Alice Trubee Davison, a banking heiress and a sister of fellow Bonesman

F. Trubee Davison Frederick Trubee Davison (February 7, 1896 – November 14, 1974) was an American World War I aviator, assistant United States Secretary of War, director of personnel for the Central Intelligence Agency, and president of the American Museum o ...

, on January 3, 1922. They had two daughters, Diane and Cynthia.

References

*''History of the Lumber and Forest Industry of the Northwest'' by George W. Hotchkiss Illustrated Chicago 1898 p. 590–593 *''The Clinton Advertiser'' Monday December 20, 1915, p. 6 *''1886 History of Clinton'' Lamb, Chancy 165 & 170–171 *''Iowa Its History and Its Foremost Citizens'' The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company 1916 p. 1830 *''The Saturday Evening Post'' December 21, 1918, p. 12 *''The Clinton Herald'' Monday December 10, 1945, p. 8 *''Wolf's History of Clinton 1911'' p. 731 *''1946 History of Clinton'' p. 50, 69, 88, 97, 98, 143 & 169 *''The History of Clinton 1976 The Almanac'' p. 536 *''The Iowan'' September 1956 *''Biography Index''. Volume 10: September 1973 – August 1976. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1977. *''Biography Index''. Volume 12: September 1979 – August 1982. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1983. *''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography''. Volume 59. New York: James T. White & Co., 1980. *''Biography and Genealogy Master Index''. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale Group, 1980-2 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Artemus 1895 births 1976 deaths American football tackles Hotchkiss School alumni Yale University alumni Union Pacific Railroad people United States Under Secretaries of the Navy People from Clinton, Iowa Military personnel from Iowa Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal United States Assistant Secretaries of the Navy