Yates Stirling, Jr.

Rear Admiral Yates Stirling, Jr.
RADM Yates Stirling, Jr. from a portrait by Mabel Buell
Nickname(s)	"the Stormy Petrel of the Navy"
Born	(1872-04-30)April 30, 1872 Vallejo, California
Died	January 27, 1948(1948-01-27) (aged 75) Baltimore, Maryland
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1892–1936
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	USS Paragua USS Paulding USS Salem USS Ozark USS Tonopah USS Columbia Submarine Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet Naval Submarine Base New London USS Chicago USS President Lincoln USS Von Steuben USS Connecticut USS New Mexico Yangtze Patrol 14th Naval District (Hawaii) 3rd Naval District (New York)
Battles/wars	Spanish–American War Philippines – Moro Rebellion Veracruz Expedition World War I
Awards	Navy Cross French Legion of Honor Venezuela Order of the Liberator Order of the Crown of Italy
Relations	RADM Yates Stirling, Sr., USN (father) CDR Archibald G. Stirling, USN (brother) CAPT Yates Stirling, III, USN (son) CDR Harry E. Stirling, USN (son) TEC4 Adelaide S. Boyd, USA (daughter)

Yates Stirling, Jr. (April 30, 1872 – January 27, 1948) was a decorated and controversial Rear Admiral in the United States Navy whose 44-year career spanned from several years before the Spanish–American War to the mid-1930s. He was awarded the Navy Cross and French Legion of Honor for distinguished service during World War One. The elder son of Rear Admiral Yates Stirling, he was an outspoken advocate of American sea power as a strong deterrent to war and to protect and promote international commerce. During Stirling's naval career and following retirement, he was a frequent lecturer, newspaper columnist and author of numerous books and articles, including his memoirs, Sea Duty: The Memoirs of a Fighting Admiral, published in 1939.

Yates Stirling, Jr. was born in Vallejo, California in 1872 to Lieutenant Commander Yates Stirling, Sr. (1843–1929) (United States Naval Academy Class of 1863) and his wife, Ellen Salisbury (née Hale) Stirling (1843–1929). At the time of Yates Jr.'s birth, his father was assigned to the USS Independence, receiving ship at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. From an established Maryland family, Stirling was a great-grandson of Thomas Yates (1740–1815), Captain, Fourth Battalion, Maryland Regulars during the American Revolutionary War. When he was about four, Stirling's family moved to Baltimore, Maryland the home of his father and grandfather. He was one of five children that survived to adulthood and the oldest of two boys, both of whom followed their father's footsteps to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. His younger brother, Commander Archibald G. Stirling (1884–1963) (United States Naval Academy Class of 1906) retired in 1933 but returned to active duty from 1942-45 during World War II. The Yates Stirling family was the second in U.S. Naval history to have father and son flag officers (rear admirals) living at the same time. The first were Rear Admirals Thomas O. Selfridge, Sr. and Jr.