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 Jr.
In September 1931 he was designated Commandant, Fourteenth Naval District, with additional duty as Commandant Naval Operating Base, Pearl Harbor, T.H. In 1932, the Massie Trial was conducted in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Hawaiian Islands were at the time part of the 14th Naval District, commanded by Stirling. Stirling's strong belief in the guilt of the five native Hawaiian men charged with rape and assault of a young naval officer's socially prominent wife was well-known, as was his displeasure at the result of a mistrial. "Our first inclination is to seize the brutes and string them up on the trees," he stated, later tempering his reaction with, "we must give the authorities a chance to carry out the law and not interfere." Later, he defended the actions of those involved in the events that led to the homicide of one of the accused, Joseph Kahahawai. Stirling's public statements concerning the Massie Affair would be impolitic and offensive by current social standards nearly a century later; however, they were mostly supported by the contemporary mainstream media, the Navy and Washington. Admiral William V. Pratt, Chief of Naval Operations, announced that, "American men will not stand for the violation of their women under any circumstances. For this crime they have taken the matter into their own hands repeatedly when they have felt that the law has failed to do justice." In a book review of Stirling's 1939 autobiography, the "Oakland Tribune" wrote, "One of the most difficult tasks of Admiral Stirling's career arose when, as Commandant in Hawaii, he had to handle the Massie tragedy. The chapter devoted to this case will make unpleasant reading for those who insist that polyracial Oriental Hawaii is fit candidate for Statehood." In the 1986 made-for-television movie about the trial, "Blood & Orchids", the name of the character representing Stirling was changed to Glenn Langdon.