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Private James Major Bradey Gates, Jr.

An African American Veteran wearing a fatigue jacket.
  • Unit: 95th Combat Engineer Battalion
  • Date of Birth: July 17, 1935
  • Date of Death: March 20, 2004
  • Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
  • Place of Death: Chicago, Illinois
  • Cemetery: Section 9, Site 600. Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood, Illinois
Contributed by Samarth Agarwal, Devin Chairez, Erin Chung, Matthew Escuadro, Hayden Friend-Goldberg, Remi Gebhart, Olivia Moy, Krishvi Nishanth, and Neem Owens
Mentored by Mr. Zach Schroeder
Skinner North Classical Elementary School (Chicago, Illinois)
2024/2025

Early Life

Jim Gates was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1935. The 1940 census shows James, age four, living with his divorced father, 21-year-old Willie Gates, who worked as a porter at a hotel.

Jim endured poverty on the South Side of Chicago. To combat this economic hardship, he joined the U.S. military. He reported using his brother’s identification to register at 15 years old.

U.S. Census record showing James Gates living with his father, Willie, on Michigan Avenue in Chicago in 1940. National Archives and Records Administration.

Homefront

Gates grew up in a culturally rich neighborhood called Bronzeville on Chicago’s South Side. In the vicinity, Dodge had a factory that produced bomber engines during World War II. Yet, employment was hard to find in his community. When Black soldiers returned from World War II and Korea, many families were systematically excluded from housing in a process called redlining.  

This neighborhood was renowned for its role in the Black Renaissance in Chicago, much like Harlem was in New York.  

A movie theater on the South Side of Chicago, April 1941. Library of Congress (2017788750).
This factory produced B-29 engines for Dodge during World War II. Today, the factory produces Tootsie Roll candy. History Articles.
Redlining was a systematic process to exclude African Americans from living in certain areas of the city, which reinforced segregation. This account from Eunice Lyons Prescott in the 1940s describes the challenges many African American families faced. Newberry Library.

Military Experience

James Major Bradley Gates Jr. lied about his age and enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 15 in 1950. In 1951, he saw combat in the Korean War. 

In 1954, Gates reported that he was assigned to Camp Desert Rock, Nevada. During the 1950s, nuclear tests were conducted in the western United States. In an account Gates submitted to Vietnam Veterans Against the War, he mentioned that in 1955, he became friends with Paul Jacobs, a journalist investigating the Nevada Test Site. He provided insider information and connections. 

Both Gates and Jacobs participated in Operation Teapot, a series of nuclear atmospheric tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site from February 18, 1955, to June 10, 1955. During these tests, both military personnel and civilians were exposed to radiation. During the 1950s, more than 200,000 military personnel were exposed to these tests. During one of these tests, Gates was knocked unconscious and woke up to major injuries to his left leg and arm. He was denied a medical release.

According to records from the National Archives and Records Administration, Gates was discharged from active duty on February 4, 1957. He continued in the U.S. Army Reserves for several more years.

Veteran Experience

Gates married Johnnie May Mondren in 1957. In total, he had eight children and 29 grandchildren. He drove taxi cabs, worked in a steel mill and a post office, and opened a restaurant. When he tried to retire, he was denied Social Security and was homeless for 12 years, suffering a heart attack with no health insurance benefits.  

In the 1970s, Gates began to suffer from medical conditions that may have been connected to this radiation exposure. He became an activist and engaged in several efforts to gain attention to what happened in Nevada and advocate for compensation and medical care for Veterans who had been exposed to the radiation. He joined the Atomic Veterans Alliance and Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

In 1978, Gates began to pursue legal action, which was profiled in the 1994 edition of the ABA Journal. The article describes the challenges faced by Gates and other Veterans, as well as the limitations placed on their attempts to pursue compensation for diseases that often appeared years or decades after their service. 

Paul Jacobs continued his investigation, which led to the 1979 documentary Paul Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang. Jacobs died from lung cancer before the film was released. The film won an Emmy in 1980.

Gates continued his legal fight and finally received a date for a hearing in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. Sadly, he died two months before his scheduled court appearance.

Gates is wearing a camouflage jacket.
Gates featured on the front page and in an in-depth article in the ABA Journal, May 1994.
A newspaper article covering Gates’s efforts to gain records and compensation for atomic Veterans, July 17, 1985. Chicago Tribune.

Commemoration

James Major Bradley Gates Jr. died on March 20, 2004, and is buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois.

He sacrificed his well-being to express the importance of addressing the critical problem of atmospheric weapon experiments. 

James Major Gates’s grave at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois. Veterans Legacy Memorial.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Boyce, Bill. “‘Atomic vets’ seek aid for ills.” Chicago Tribune [Chicago, IL], July 17, 1985. Newspapers.com (388342751). 

Illinois. Cook County. 1940 U.S. Census. Digital images. http://ancestryclasroom.com.

James Gates. Cook County, Illinois Birth Index, 1916-1935. https://ancestryclassroom.com.  

James Gates, Jr. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claim Index, 1936-2007. https://ancestryclassroom.com. 

James M. Gates. Cook County, Illinois Marriage Index, 1930-1960. https://ancestryclassroom.com. 

James M. Gates. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014. https://ancestryclassroom.com. 

James Major Bradley Gates. Official Military Personnel File (partial, reconstructed), Department of the Army. National Archives and Records Administration – St. Louis.

Johnnie Mae Gates. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claim Index, 1936-2007. https://ancestryclassroom.com. 

Prescott, Eunice Lyons Prescott. [Document about redlining]. Prescott Family Papers, 1900s-2010s, Newberry Library (NL11E48E). https://collections.newberry.org/asset-management/2KXJ8ZSJCSL3Y?WS=MultipleAssets_SharePublic. 

Russell, Lee. Movie theater. Southside, Chicago, Illinois. Photograph. April 1941. Library of Congress (2017788750). https://www.loc.gov/item/2017788750/. 

Secondary Sources

Alvarez, Robert. “Paul Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang.” Institute for Policy Studies. Updated April 10, 2022. Accessed April 16, 2025. https://ips-dc.org/paul-jacobs-and-the-nuclear-gang/. 

“Bronzeville: The Black Metropolis.” WTTW. Accessed December 13, 2024. https://interactive.wttw.com/dusable-to-obama/bronzeville. 

Hogan, Nancy. “Shielded from Liability.” ABA Journal 80 (May 1, 1994): 54-58. https://books.google.com.na/books?id=3nqwq57HNYIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0&safe=active&surl=1#v=onepage&q&f=false. 

Intondi, Vincent J. “Justice for the Atomic Veterans.” Huff Post, March 15, 2014. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/justice-for-the-atomic-veterans_b_4582004. 

“James Major Bradey Gates, Jr.: Atomic Veteran and Activist.” Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Accessed December 13, 2024. https://www.vvaw.org/veteran/article/?id=102. 

Landau, Saul, and Jack Willis. “Same Old from the Nuclear Gang after Fukushima.” Otherwords, April 25, 2011. https://otherwords.org/same_old_from_the_nuclear_gang_after_fukushima/. 

O’Connor, Jerome. “Arsenal of Democracy – How the Home Front Mobilized to Defeat the Axis.” History Articles Blog, March 24, 2013. https://historyarticles.com/chicagos-arsenal-of-democracy/. 

“Operation Teapot.” U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Accessed April 16, 2025. https://www.dtra.mil/Portals/125/Documents/NTPR/newDocs/12-TEAPOT%20-%202021.pdf. 

“Sgt James Major Bradey Gates Jr.” Find a Grave. Updated October 19, 2004. Accessed December 13, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9677301/james_major_bradey-gates. 

Weber, Austin. “Ford’s Forgotten Chicago Assembly Plant.” Assembly Magazine, June 4, 2024. https://www.assemblymag.com/articles/98570-fords-forgotten-chicago-assembly-plant.

This profile was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.