SMA Julius William Gates "The Farm Boy" Which Became the Highest Ranking Enlisted Soldier in the Army, "The Sergeant Major of the Army"

Abstract

Julius William Gates was born 14 June 1941 in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. He was the sixth child of nine children. He spent a lot of time doing back breaking work to maintain the family farm. As a little boy he enjoyed riding the back of the pickup truck out to the farm. He enjoyed watching the animals eat and play. When he was eight years old, his father bought a service station and built a new home nearby. The workload for Gates tripled when they purchased the service station and so did responsibility. Gates carried this workload until the age of 16.Gates attended grade school in Carrboro, North Carolina, and high school in Chapel Hill. School was good experience, and the teachers maintained constructive relationships with the parents. Teachers concentrated on the basics and made sure that each student had a firm foundation. In school, Gates best subjects were history and geography. Math was the subject that issued the biggest challenge. Gates loved football, baseball, and basketball but due to the house hold workload, sports were out. At the age of sixteen Gates quite school. He accepted a job as an assistant service manager with the local ford dealer. He used his earnings to help support his family. After working at the dealership for a year and with his parent's reluctant consent, he enlisted in the Army. He enlisted 12 August 1958 at the age of seventeen for three years. It's what he always wanted to do. He was influenced by soldiers returning from the Second World War. He was impressed by all the uniforms when they came home. His brother had served in the pacific during World War II. Two of his uncles had served in the European theater, and one participated in the D-Day Invasion.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 28, 2005
Accession Number
AD1117339

Entities

People

  • William K. Allen

Organizations

  • United States Army Sergeants Major Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Airborne
  • Army
  • Artillery Fire
  • Basic Training
  • Control Systems
  • Education
  • Families (Human)
  • Fire Control Systems
  • Geography
  • Germany
  • Infantry
  • Instructors
  • Noncommissioned Officers
  • North Carolina
  • Schools
  • Second World War
  • Students
  • Training
  • United States
  • War
  • Workload

Readers

  • Gender and Food Studies
  • Industrial Economics
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.