Earl P Yates

Earl Preston "Buddy" Yates (born December 23, 1923) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. Yates, who graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1944, was, in 1967, the youngest male graduate ever from the Academy. He was a former commander of Fleet Air Wing 4. He was also the first commander of the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). On 22 August 2015, he was present at the keel laying of her successor, USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) and ordered the ship's keel laid.