Yu was a tall and slender man and a prolong recipient. He was also a very punctual and precise individual who treated people with respect, and he never forgot the officers who impressed him. Yu was a student of history and believed that Haven's economy was too fragile. (HH2) He was very well respected among officers of many navies, even of the People's Navy he defected from. He was as much Thomas Theisman's mentor as Raoul Courvosier was Honor Harrington's. (HH10)