Solution Popular Post Road Runner Posted September 17, 2021 Solution Popular Post Share #1 Posted September 17, 2021 From his obituary published in the Virginian Pilot: Rear Admiral Earl Preston "Buddy" Yates, the first commanding officer of the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), died on September 13, 2021, at the age of 97 at his long-time home in Virginia Beach, Virginia. At age 19, Yates was the youngest ever to graduate from the United States Naval Academy. He obtained his commission in time to serve in combat as a gunnery officer aboard the destroyer USS Dyson in the Pacific during World War II. Toward the end of the war, he began flight training and over the course of his career flew virtually every aircraft in the Navy. As Commanding Officer of Fighter Squadron VF-41, and CO of Heavy Attack Squadron VAH-9, Buddy was among the first jet pilots to make nighttime carrier landings. He knew and flew with Chuck Yeager at The Air War College. He earned a Masters Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at MIT. He served twice as Aide to the Secretary of the Navy. His other commands are too many to list, but rising to the top are Carrier Air Group 8 aboard the USS Forrestal, amphibious ship LPD-1 USS Raleigh, NAS Whidbey Island, and Director of Plans for CINCPAC during the Vietnam war. While he loved every command, the highlight of his career was as first Skipper of the USS John F Kennedy (CV-67). His devotion to the ship and its crew has never wavered, including her successor CVN-79 USS John F. Kennedy. He was born December 23, 1923, in Winston-Salem, N.C., and was the son of the late Earl Preston Yates and Elizabeth Poole Holton Yates. He graduated from Reynolds High School at the age of 15, where he maintained a perfect attendance record, played sports and was active in the theater. Too young for an appointment to the Naval Academy, he enrolled at the University of North Carolina, until, reaching the age of 16 he realized his dream of becoming a midshipman. His Class of '44 had an early graduation due to WWII, so at the age of 19, he graduated from the Academy. He then married his sweetheart Lucy Anne Welch of Annapolis, and went off to war. Buddy loved the sea. In retirement, he and Lucy moved back to their Virginia Beach house. They spent many wonderful winters on their boat, the Puka Kai, sailing to the Bahamas, where Buddy kept fit spearfishing for dinner. Buddy was committed to his family, being married for over six decades, and raising, educating, and loving his and Lucy's five children. Buddy had friends. Lots of them. His phone was always ringing. His house was always full of guests. During his Naval career and beyond, his best friends were his Naval Academy classmates, but his circle extended far beyond that, young and old. He kept up with his 1930's high school gang, "the Hunks", and he and Lucy would gather with them (and "the Hunkettes") regularly. In retirement, Buddy and Lucy were also part of a large coterie of friends from across the US who shared the same Bahamian anchorages winter after winter. He reached out to the Vietnamese immigrant community and made many friends there, an interest that was inspired by his service in Saigon. Buddy had endless interests, stamina and drive. He was a gardener, he could play the guitar, he could fix any household appliance or plumbing problem, he could paint portraits and landscapes, he was a carpenter, he was a masterful writer and on and on with his talents. He worked incredibly hard and was extremely demanding, but he was also charming and funny and knew how to have a good time. He told amazing, highly entertaining stories about his numerous brushes with death as a naval aviator. And he was well-known for making a killer rum goody and expertly plated smiley-face breakfasts with two sunny-side up eggs and curved bacon. Buddy was lucky. And he knew it. When Lucy died, Buddy designed a headstone for their gravesite at the Naval Academy Cemetery on a grassy hill overlooking the Severn River. Other headstones on the hill list accomplishments and commands of distinguished naval careers. Buddy and Lucy's headstone, by contrast, is utilitarian: a simple but comfortable bench. On one side of the bench base is engraved Lucy's name and a beautiful tribute. On the other side is his name and one word: "Lucky." 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airehead Posted September 17, 2021 Share #2 Posted September 17, 2021 Buddy Yates was an amazing man by the sounds of it. I feel like I have heard about him before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted September 17, 2021 Share #3 Posted September 17, 2021 Wow - from perfect attendance at high school to living to 97 to being a jet fighter pilot, he was the picture of good health! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Runner Posted September 18, 2021 Author Share #4 Posted September 18, 2021 It is often said that some people lived a full life. Buddy took life by the throat and lived it to the max. I liked the part about his epitaph most. It says a lot about who he was. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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