Yates Stirling Jr.
On July 20, 1924, he became Captain of the Yard, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., with additional duty as Assistant Superintendent of the Naval Gun Factory. He was promoted to rear admiral on October 6, 1926 and in December that year Stirling was designated Chief of Staff to Admiral Charles F. Hughes, Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, based at San Pedro, California. At the October 27, 1927 Navy Day Ceremonies at San Pedro harbor, despite an all-day downpour, thousands of Southern Californians gathered for the festivities, including ships' tours, band performances of patriotic music and the key-note address given by Stirling, "Merchant Marine, the Navy and the Nation".
Yates Stirling
Stirling was commander-in-chief of the United States Asiatic Fleet from 11 July 1904 to 23 March 1905 before retiring from the Navy on 6 May 1905 at the mandatory age of 62. During the time he commanded the Asiatic Fleet, his flag was on the USS Wisconsin (BB-9) and his son, Yates, Jr. served as his flag lieutenant. When he was interviewed shortly after his retirement, Stirling recalled an incident early in his career when he was first lieutenant taking a ship into a New England harbor with some difficulty. An old lobsterman in a dory piled high with traps managed to interfere with the ship's passage. After Stirling called down to the lobsterman with some "choice deep sea language", the old man leisurely rested on his oars and replied, "And who be you?" Stirling blustered back, "Who am I? I'm the first officer of this ship." "Well, go to your skipper, then," replied the ancient mariner with dignity. "I don't argue with nobody but my equals an I'm cap'n o' this."