World War II - The Pacific War

Fredericksburg, Texas, is the birthplace of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN.

Admiral Nimitz was born into German culture as the son of a hotel owner and his attractive wife.

Young Chester grew up in the hotel, and worked as a clerk.

He found this life boring as he grew up, and applied to his congressman for a chance to take the entrance exams for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Learning that all appointments were filled, he jumped at the chance to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. He jumped at the chance, even though he had never heard of Annapolis. Rising steadily through the ranks, moving from command to command, he achieved a prominent place in pre-World War II naval circles.

Japan had become the dominant military power in the Far East, but the Portsmouth Peace Conference hosted by President Roosevelt insulted Japan by denying the empire the territorial gains it felt it had earned. In this tense setting, Nimitz received command of the USS Panay and was ordered to patrol the waters of the southern Philippines "showing the flag". In an era before radio, Nimitz enjoyed almost complete independence of command and learned much about leadership, seamanship, and diplomacy. He is quoted "We had no radio, no mail, and no fresh food." He loved every minute.

Years later, as CINCPAC (Commander in Chief, Pacific) after the attack on Pearl Harbor, many of the lessons learned on those early voyages stood Admiral Nimitz in good stead.

So it makes perfect sense to locate the National Museum of the Pacific War in the hometown of the man who guided this epic battle, as he said "representing the thousands of men and women who fought and died" for freedom.

The hotel that was once owned by the Nimitz family is now a museum devoted to the Admiral and his life. Just outside the hotel, on the way to the the Pacific War Museum, lies the Plaza of the Presidents, honoring ten consecutive presidents, spanning the years from 1941 to 1992, who served in their country's armed forces during World War II.

Each President is represented by a moment detailing his service record. From Franklin D. Roosevelt as Commander-in-Chief in 1941,

through Harry S Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, James E. Carter, Jr., Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush:

Entering the National Museum, one is struck immediately with the horror of December 7, 1941.

A portion of a door from the USS Arizona is located in a prominent location, complete with fuel oil stains about half way up and a ragged hole cut by rescuers looking for survivors.

December 8, 1941 was the first day of a New Age.

Four months post-Pearl Harbor, a symbolic and miraculous strike was made on the Japanese homeland by Dolittles Raiders. On 18 April 1942, 16 stripped down B-25s, loaded with 1,140 gallons of fuel and four 500 pound bombs each jumped off the 467 foot long deck of the carrier USS Hornet in pre-dawn darkness.

Designed to take off from land on runways thousands of feet long, the B-25s wallowed and stalled and nearly ditched as they clawed and climbed into the sky. Hours later, they dropped their bombs on Tokyo, beginning in a very small way a crack in the confidence of the Japanese people that their empire was invincible. Out of fuel, one B-25 landed in Soviet territory and was confiscated and the crew interned. The others either ditched near the China coast or crash landed in China. Of 80 men on the raid, 77 survived. The Japanese executed thousands of Chinese in retaliation for assisting downed airmen.

As the Pacific War progressed, censorship and news blackouts became commonplace in the United States. The first published image of American dead during World War II appeared in a September 1943 issue of Life magazine.

Brothers Joseph, Francis, Albert, Madison and George Sullivan served together on the USS Juneau. The ship, and the five brothers, was lost on 13 November, 1942, struck by a torpedo fired by a Japanese submarine during the battle for Guadalcanal.

Their mother, wrote a fearful letter in January 1943:

The industrial might of the United States immediately went into gear in 1942. Prefabbed ships were launched at the rate of one a day, with factories utilizing revolutionary production methods. During the war, the U.S. manufactured 325,000 military aircraft, more than Germany, Japan, and Italy combined.

The Museum contains so much detail on ship movements, battle plans, and personal tragedies that we had to leave the facility at about the half-way point on Tuesday. As we returned on Wednesday, the 20th, the First Day of Spring, we saw this near the entrance. These are words sadly needed in todays world.

Who has ever heard of Ulithi Atoll? Well, certainly not me, yet this volcanic atoll of coral, white sand, and palm trees located 360 miles southwest of Guam and 850 miles east of the Philippines was the busiest naval base in the world! Secured in September, 1944, within a month a floating base was operational. Repair ships, destroyer tenders, and floating dry docks arrived with 6,000 ship fitters, welders, carpenters, and electricians! This was where we picked up our second day tour of the Museum.

Lieutenant George H.W. Bush:

and a TBM plane with a ball turret like the future president was flying.

The horror of was cannot be better shown than by the "thousand yard stare."

Hundreds of little known islands, thousands of miles, and millions of men marked the slow progress of the war toward Imperial Japan. Heroism was normal, extraordinary sacrifice was commonplace, and petty grievances forgotten. The war went on...

We all have seen the famous picture of the flag raising on Iwo Jima:

But not many of us have seen a photo of the first flag raising, where the flag was fixed to the top of a 20 foot pole minutes after the Marines topped the hill!

 In 1942, three American soldiers were ordered to burn the American flag that was flying on an air base at Del Monte on Mindanao in the Philippines. Before the flag was destroyed, they decided to remove the 48 stars and hide them. For the next 42 months, the three men were moved to different prisoner of war camps and eventually taken to Japan on a "hell ship." During this time they concealed the stars in their clothes, barracks, and a steel factory. In the days before their liberation, they sewed together a new flag using a rusty nail for a needle, an old sewing machine, parachute material and the stars that they had saved. The new flag was flying over the camp when American troops arrived on 7 September 1945.

As the war ended, incredible joy swept the nation.

One can argue that every member of every branch of military service should be given a Medal of Honor.

This museum is a masterpiece of military history. There is an incredible amount of information on display, along with poignant stories of the men and women who suffered on freedoms behalf.

Leaders such as Admiral Nimitz, who didn't complete grade school, stepped up at exactly the correct time and deserve our thanks and appreciation. We wouldn't have the freedom that we now have without them.