Donald Norton Yates (November 25, 1909 – August 28, 1993) was the

US Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

officer who helped select

June 6, 1944 The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

as the date for

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, the Allied invasion of Europe, in his capacity as chief

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

on General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

's staff. Yates and his British counterpart,

James Martin Stagg Group Captain James Martin Stagg, (30 June 1900 – 23 June 1975) was a Met Office meteorologist attached to the Royal Air Force during the Second World War who notably persuaded General Dwight D. Eisenhower to change the date of the Allied in ...

, chose well – it turned out to be the only day that month the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

could have been successfully crossed. Yates was subsequently decorated by three governments. He went on to become the chief meteorologist of the newly formed

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, and commander of the Air Force Missile Test Center at

Patrick Air Force Base Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

in Florida.

Early life and career

Yates was born in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, on November 25, 1909, and graduated from

Bangor High School Bangor High School, a member of the Bangor School System, is a high school in Bangor, Maine, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students in grades 9–12. It is Bangor's only public high school. Since its 2001–2002 sel ...

in 1927. He went on to the

U.S. Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

, graduating in 1931, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Cavalry, departing immediately for pilot training at Kelly Field, Texas. His first military assignment was to Luke Field, Hawaii, with the 23d Bomb Squadron. In June 1938, Yates enrolled as a graduate student at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, and received a master of science degree in meteorology. Yates became assistant chief of the weather section in the operations division of the Office, Chief of Air Corps, in December 1941. With the outbreak of war, he was appointed the following year deputy director of weather at Army Air Force Headquarters.

On Eisenhower's staff, and planning for D-Day

In February 1944 Col. Yates became director of weather service for the U.S. Strategic Air Force in Europe, in addition, serving on General Eisenhower's staff. In this capacity he made, together with British Group Captain

, the final recommendation of

. The citation accompanying his award of the U.S. Army Legion of Merit stated that "through Colonel Yates' good judgment, skill and sound leadership, reconciliation of the differences in forecasting methods were effected, resulting in the development of a procedure capable of utilizing the talents and facilities of both nations (U.S. and U.K.) and all services in a unified manner. The value of Colonel Yates' advice has since been proven as the day selected for the continental assault was probably the only day during the month of June on which the operation could have been launched." For this he received the Degree of Chevalier in the National Order of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

of France.

Air Force and promotion to general

Upon his return to the United States in January 1945, Col. Yates was made chief of the Weather Division, which later was merged with the Weather Wing to form the

Air Weather Service The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

, which he commanded at

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force. In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form Joint B ...

, Maryland, until 1950. During this period he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1947, and transferred to the

. On March 17, 1947, he flew the first scheduled weather reconnaissance mission over the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

. In 1950, Brig. Gen. Yates was appointed assistant deputy chief of staff for development at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, and the following April he became director of research and development with the headquarters. He was promoted to the rank of major general in 1952.

Patrick Air Force Base and the Pentagon

Maj. Gen. Yates was commander of the Air Force Missile Test Center,

, Florida, from 1954 to 1960. During this tour he was awarded the Navy Legion of Merit for his services in connection with the Navy

Project Vanguard Project Vanguard was a program managed by the United States Navy Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), which intended to launch the first artificial satellite into low Earth orbit using a Vanguard rocket. as the launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral ...

and the Navy Ballistic Missile Program

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

. in 1960 Yates was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and appointed deputy director of defense research & engineering (ranges and space ground support) at the

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...

. Yates retired from the United States Air Force on March 31, 1961.“United States Air Force Oral History Interview of Lieutenant General Donald N. Yates, 10-12 June 1980.” Call number K239.0512-1208. Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Scientific appointments

Yates was a president of the

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the premier scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the Atmospheric sciences, atmospheric, Oceanography, oceanic, and Hydrology, hydr ...

, a member of the

Institute of Aeronautical Sciences The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of t ...

, and a Fellow of the

American Rocket Society The American Rocket Society (ARS) began its existence on , under the name of the American Interplanetary Society. It was founded by science fiction writers G. Edward Pendray, David Lasser, Laurence Manning, Nathan Schachner, and others. Pendray ...

. Yates' younger brother

Elmer P. Yates Elmer Parker Yates (December 19, 1917 – August 14, 2011) was a major general in the United States Army Corps of Engineers who saw service in the Vietnam War. He was the younger brother of United States Air Force Lieutenant General Donald Nort ...

also graduated from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

and became a major general in the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

References