TANNER AND DELEGATION PROPOSE NAMING
NAVY SHIP FOR GENERAL CLIFTON B. CATES

WASHINGTON – Congressman John Tanner and the U.S. House delegation from Tennessee introduced a resolution urging the U.S. Navy to name a ship after Marine Corps General Clifton B. Cates of Tiptonville, Tennessee.

“General Cates had a very distinguished military career spanning 37 years and three wars,” Congressman Tanner said. “We think it is appropriate that the United States Navy name a ship in his honor to recognize the contributions he and other Tennesseans have made in service to our country.”

H. Res. 330 was introduced April 2 by Congressman Tanner and the full bipartisan House delegation from Tennessee – Reps. Phil Roe, John Duncan, Zach Wamp, Lincoln Davis, Jim Cooper, Bart Gordon, Marsha Blackburn and Steve Cohen. The text is below: 

111TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION

H. RES. 330

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of the Navy should name an appropriate Navy ship in honor of Marine Corps General Clifton B. Cates of Tiptonville, Tennessee.

Whereas Clifton B. Cates of Tiptonville, Tennessee served as a United States Marine during World Wars I and II and the Korean War;

Whereas Clifton B. Cates entered the Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant in 1917 at the beginning of World War I, during which he fought in the crucial Second Battle of the Marne;

Whereas during that fight, then-Lieutenant Cates was wounded and gassed but refused to be evacuated;

Whereas Clifton B. Cates was the most decorated Marine Corps Officer of World War I, having been awarded the Navy Cross, Army Distinguished Service Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Silver Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of Honor, and the Croix de Guerre with Gilt Star and 2 palms;

Whereas during World War II, Clifton B. Cates led Marines at Guadalcanal, and the seizure of Iwo Jima, and in recognition of his service was awarded the Legion of Merit with Combat ‘‘V’’ and the Distinguished Service Medal with a gold star;

Whereas Clifton B. Cates was one of the few officers of any branch of the United States Armed Forces to command, under fire, a platoon, a company, a battalion, a regiment, and a division;

Whereas Clifton B. Cates was advanced to the rank of General in 1948 and was named the 19th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps;

Whereas Clifton B. Cates served his country as a United States Marine for 37 years through 3 wars; and

Whereas members of the Clifton Cates Memorial Fund led by retired Colonel Otto Melsa and Ed Youngblood have worked tirelessly to bring recognition to the significant accomplishments of General Clifton B. Cates: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of the Navy should name an appropriate Navy ship in honor of Marine Corps General Clifton B. Cates of Tiptonville, Tennessee.

Tanner, a veteran of the U.S. Navy and the Tennessee Army National Guard, represents the 8^th Congressional District in West and Middle Tennessee. Co-founder of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, Tanner serves on the Ways and Means Committee, where he chairs the Social Security Subcommittee, and on the Foreign Affairs Committee. He chairs the U.S. delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and is serving a two-year term as NATO PA President.

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Contact: Randy Ford, 202.225.4714