SSG John Glenn Cates

SSG John Glenn Cates was born in Iredell County, North Carolina on 9 Dec 1916 to John Ivey and Ida Lou (Hoover) Cates. The family of 12 farmed near Statesville.  In 1940, John Glenn was working in the textile industry and reported a 1939 income of $510.

When he was drafted in May 1941, John Glenn was living in Grayson County, Virginia and still working in the textile industry.  Sometime after entering the service, we think before the unit was sent to England, John Glenn was assigned to F Company 116th Infantry.  By the time the unit embarked for the amphibious assault on the French beaches in Normandy, he had attained the rank of SSG.  SSG Cates was wounded, probably on 6 Jun 1944 and died of his wounds on 7 Jun 1944. 

We are not certain where SSG Cates is buried but because we know he was repatriated we think it most likely he is buried with his parents in the Mount Herman Lutheran Church Cemetery in Statesville, North Carolina. 

All of John Ivey's 4 sons served. John Glenn's younger brothers, Clyde, Thomas and Ray, all survived the war.