He was born, grew up and received his higher education in Philadelphia. Thanks to his father, he got a place in a modern company. Then, he revealed his personality during the American participation in the Second World War. After that, Gates Jr. won high positions and became the new US Secretary of Defense. How it all started, what operations he participated in after 1942 and what made the statesman memorable? Read more about the interesting path of Thomas Gates Jr. to power on philadelphiaski.
The beginning and development of a career
Thomas Sovereign Gates Jr. was born on April 10, 1906 in Philadelphia. The future statesman grew up in the family of a financier, who later worked as the head of the University of Pennsylvania. In this higher educational institution, Gates Jr. earned a bachelor’s degree. Then, he earned money in his father’s financial firm.
In 1935, Thomas Gates Jr. joined the United States Navy. When his homeland officially entered the Second World War, Thomas went to serve in the headquarters of the commander-in-chief of the Atlantic operations. The Philadelphian took part in US operations in northern Africa, fought in the Pacific Ocean and helped the US army capture the island of Tarawa. Thomas went through the entire war. After that, he decided to leave the service in the United States Army.
In the second half of the twentieth century, a native of Philadelphia worked in the Beaver Coal Corporation. He headed it a few years later. However, Gates Jr. did not stay in this position for long, as he received an offer to become the Under Secretary of the Navy. He agreed. Then, he became the Secretary during the office of President Eisenhower.
In 1959, Neil McElroy was no longer the Secretary of Defense of the United States of America because Thomas Gates Jr. got this appointment. One of his first implementations was the creation of a new command post, which was focused solely on planning strategic goals. At the headquarters, military generals and other leaders coordinated and distributed nuclear strike targets between the air force, navy and land-based missiles.
What was the statesman remembered for?
Secretary Thomas Gates Jr.’s tenure saw a series of reforms that added intercontinental ballistic missiles, such as the Atlas, Titan, Minuteman and Polaris submarine-launched missiles, to nuclear-armed strategic bombers.
In this political and military position, the native of Philadelphia is probably best remembered for the scandal surrounding the U-2 reconnaissance plane that was shot down over the territory of the Soviet Union. The American pilot was captured and imprisoned there. This conflict between the two countries hit Gates’s reputation hard. As a result, in the early spring of 1961, Thomas Gates Jr. resigned from his position.
Then, the former government official for several years was involved in entrepreneurial activities within the company Morgan Guaranty Trust. After the change of Eisenhower to Richard Nixon, the Philadelphian headed a special group that dealt with issues related to the transition from a conscription to a volunteer army. The last place of work of the native of the City of Brotherly Love was the position of ambassador to the People’s Republic of China within the American delegation.
On March 25, 1983, Thomas Sovereign Gates Jr. died. He was buried in Philadelphia. Nowadays, the USS Thomas S. Gates ship is named after him.
