Yates Stirling Jr.
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. Describing himself, Stirling wrote, "All my life I have been called a stormy petrel. I have never hesitated to use the pen to reveal what I considered should be brought to public attention, usually within the Navy, but often to a wider public. I seem to see some benefits that have come through those efforts. I have always believed that a naval man is disloyal to his country if he does not reveal acts that are doing harm to his service and show, if he can, how to remedy the fault. An efficient Navy cannot be run with 'yes men' only."
John de Strivelyn
By the autumn of 1338 Stirling was able to rejoin the king's forces, this time in the Low Countries. He must have stayed with the king until late autumn of 1339 and returned the islands to participate in a winter expedition to Scotland. Next winter, 1341/2, Stirling joined King Edward's campaign in Scotland after the fall of Edinburgh Castle. In October 1342 he transferred to Brittany and fought in the Breton War of Succession until the end of January 1343. On 29 July 1343 Stirling was appointed sheriff of Northumberland but didn't take the office due to a bad wound and was relieved sometime after February 1344. From January 1345 until February 1346 he was the keeper of Berwick Castle. In July 1346 Stirling joined King Edward in his expedition to the continent, culminating in Battle of Crécy and the siege of Calais. In March 1347 he moved back to the Scottish Marches and served until October.