Charles L. Coates was the youngest son of Mary Alice Garrett - Coates and brother to Westlynne Beverly Coates - Tankersley. He was following his older brother, Rugie R. Coates into medical school when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He, like many of his classmates joined the service to fight the axis powers. Below is the newspaper story of his triumphant return home after doing his part to end the evils of World War II.

After the war, Charlie, as he was called by his relations, completed medical school, but as a dentist rather than a doctor. He set up practice and became quite well known as one of the top dentists in Houston, Texas. Some of his children are now raising their family in Houston as well. Hopefully, these children can fill in the rest of the story for this genealogy collection.

Polesti Raid Veteran Home

For "turning a potential mission failure into a brilliant bombardment success" Lt. Charles L. Coates was awarded the Distinguished FLying Cross he is wearing on his visit home to Oklahoma City.

It was a mission to bomb the heavily-smoked Polesti refineries. Lieutenant Coates, 28-year-old Oklahoma City flyer, was bombardier on a B-24.

THey were flying through intense flak. The cloud cover was thick and heavy smoke from enemy smudge pots obscured the target. In the approach to the target, the first attack unit deviated, flew to one side of the target below.

Coates, who had studied the reconnaissance pictures of the entire area, directed his pilot into the target for a separate run.

As his plane flew over the target, Coates saw a hole in the smoke. For 20 seconds the target was visible and he caught a glimpse of a railroad and oil storage tanks. Coates dropped his eggs, and subsequent photos showed a highly concentrated bomb pattern which destroyed a locomotive roundhouse, the through lines and sidings, and started fires in the tanks.

Besides the DFC he wears two battle stars and three clusters. He flew 51 missions out of NOrthern Italy and one day they sent him home in a ship named "Satan's Kids".

The first ship he flew was "Whisky Kid". Coates and his crew flew the ship on 27 missions and none of them got a scratch. Another crew took the ship out on its 28th mission aNd they didn't come back.

Coates is visiting his mother, Mary G. Coates, at 501 NW 31, until August 10. Then he will report to Miami Beach for re-assignment somewhere in the states.

When the war is over, he wants to come home and finish medical school. He graduated in 1940 from the University of Oklahoma and had a year at the University of Tennessee school of medicine before entering the army air force.

"Not all the boys are going to want to fly when the war is over.", he said. "Most of them want to go back where they came from and pick up where they left off."