Andrew Isaiah Crites was born on January 21, 1920, in Crawford County, Kansas. He was the son of Raymond Edward Crites and Myrtle Crites. He completed eight grades of schooling and worked on the family farm before entering active Army service in late 1943. He served in the 121st Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized, as a Staff Sergeant and was briefly hospitalized in April 1944 after falling from a vehicle.

His unit arrived in the UK in February 1944 and entered France on June 30. The squadron guarded the VIII Corps flank during the Normandy campaign, fought across the Ay River, advanced through Avranches into Brittany, reached Rennes by early August, then moved east with XV Corps toward Laval and Le Mans. Later attached to the XII Corps, the unit advanced toward Frambois and operated around the Forêt de Parroy in October 1944.

SSgt Crites was Killed in Action on October 9, 1944, liberation of Mouacourt, France. He is now buried in the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial, Epinal, Departement des Vosges, Lorraine, France.

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