There is a separate section apart from the Museum with the history of Admiral Charles W. Nimitz that is housed in what used to be the Hotel Nimitz. This post contains some information about early Texas and how the Nimitz family came to be part of Texas history.
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| Admiral Charles W. Nimitz (Feb. 24, 1885 - Feb. 20, 1966) |
In the 1840s, the western Texas frontier collided with the southern frontier of the Comancheria, a large sea of the Southern Great Plains dominated by the Comanche Indians. Violent frontier collisions between Texas settlers and various Comanche bands occurred as each group sought to occupy the land.
In March 1840, dozens of Comanche died in the Council House Fight in San Antonio, where they had come seeking peaceful recognition of the boundaries of their land. This tragic incident resulted in the Great Comanche Raid to the Texas coast, during which Buffalo Hump and hundreds of his followers attacked Victoria and sacked Linnville on Lavaca Bay, the second largest port in the Republic of Texas. No peace and years of frontier violence ensued between the Comanche and the Texans. Despite the dangers of frontier living, the promise of land ownership attracted many German settlers.
In April 1842, a group of German nobles created the Adelsverein (Society for the Protection of German Immigrants to Texas) with Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels appointed Commissioner General. They endeavored to establish communities in Texas by purchasing land and settling German emigrants.
Prince Carl brought a group of German immigrants to Texas and established a village near Comal Springs, naming it New Braunfels. Prince Carl returned to Germany in 1845 and the Adelsverein appointed John O. Meusebach Commissioner General. Meusebach encountered organizational disarray when he arrived in Texas. Despite multiple challenges, he settled immigrants 60 miles west of New Braunfels in what became Fredericksburg, named for Prince Fredrick of Prussia. Plagued with financial trouble and poor management, the Adelsverein ceased operations in 1853.
German immigrants landed in Galveston, then traveled to Indianola, a port of entry for immigrants on Matagorda Bay. Mismanagement and poor financial planning prevented the Adelsverein from assisting newly arrived immigrants effectively. Many found themselves stranded on the beach at Indianola with no reliable transportation inland and very few resources at hand. Hardships abounded as many died at Indianola or along inland roads.
Despite an arduous journey, settlers established New Braunfels (1845) and Fredericksburg (1846) on the Texas frontier northwest of San Antonio. The United States of America annexed the Republic of Texas in 1845, making Texas the 28th state.
May 1843, a wagon train with 1,000 pioneers leaves Missouri for the Pacific Northwest via the Oregon Trail.
When the first 120 immigrants arrived with Meusebach at the 10,000-acre lot between Barons and Town creeks in Fredericksburg, each received 10 acres of nearby farmland and a town lot.
Much contributed to Fredericksburg's early success. Meusebach negotiated a lasting peace treaty with members of the Penateka band of Comanche Indians in 1847. The US Army established Fort Martin Scott in 1848 to protect settlers on the frontier and travelers on the Upper El Paso Road, which became a major route to California during the 1849 Gold Rush (the California Gold Rush began in January 1848). In 1848, the Texas legislature created Gillespie County, with Fredericksburg as its seat. By 1850, Fredericksburg boasted a population of over 1,000 people, despite a cholera epidemic in 1848-49.
Grandpa Nimitz worked as a merchant seaman during his youth. He told his grandchildren since he turned his back on the sea, he could never make another ocean voyage lest he be swallowed up as punishment. When he made a trip to New York City, his grandchildren worried. Upon his safe return, he stated that he begged forgiveness and promised to give the sea one of his grandsons -- as an admiral.
Karl Heinrich Nimitz was born in 1826 in Bremen, Lower Saxony, Germany. At 14, he went to sea as a merchant mariner before settling in South Carolina, where family members operated a hotel. Though not among the first group of German immigrants to Fredericksburg, Nimitz arrived in 1845.
He anglicized his name to Charles Henry and married Sophie Dorothea Mueller in 1848. He owned 15 acres but struggled to support a growing family working as a bookkeeper for a cypress mill. For four months in 1851, he served as a Texas Ranger. In 1855, he acquired the building that became the Nimitz Hotel and operated it until 1906, when he ceded it to his son, Charles Henry, Jr. During the Civil War (1861-1865), Nimitz formed the Gillespie Rifles after accepting a commission as captain from the Confederacy. Elected in 1890 to the 22nd Texas Legislature, Nimitz represented District 89. Charles Henry Nimitz, Sr. died in 1911.
On February 1, 1861, Texans vote to secede from the United States and join the Confederate States of America.
In 1855, Charles Nimitz, Sr. acquired a low, mud-brick building on Main Street that served as a hotel for travelers on the Upper El Paso Road. Although modest in size the hotel was well located and Nimitz prospered. Additions to the structure followed. As the hotel increased in size, its theatrical hall became an important social center for community activities. A brewery built on site in 1859 employed three people, manufactured 26,000 gallons of beer and turned a $13,000 profit.
By 1860, four employees assisted with the hotel, bar and stables. Guests paid fifty cents per night for lodging and one dollar if they wanted meals. Horses and mules were livered for fifty cents. A bathhouse offered guests the only opportunity for a hot bath between San Antonio and El Paso.
On June 19, 1865, Emancipation declared at Galveston, freeing some 250,000 enslaved people in Texas. This is celebrated annually as Juneteenth.
Charles H. Nimitz, Sr. and his wife Sophie has 12 children. Nine survived into adulthood. One son, Chester Bernard Nimitz (1855-1884) married Anne Henke in March 1884, against his doctor's advice. He suffered from weak lungs and a rheumatic heart. Chester died before his son, Chester William, was born. Thus, the future fleet admiral never knew his father. Grandpa Nimitz invited the widow and her son to live in the hotel and served as a surrogate father for the boy.
In 1890, Anna married her brother-in-law, William Nimitz. William had recently graduated from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. The new family moved to Kerrville where they managed the St. Charles Hotel.
On March 30, 1870, Texas is readmitted into the Union during Reconstruction.
Charles Nimitz, Sr. presided over his hotel with a brand of frontier hospitality unique to his character. As a practical joke, he sometimes secreted hotel silver into a departing guest's baggage. He then would organize a posse to return the unaware offender to a mock trial. He also regaled guests with tall Texas tales, among his favorites being one about hanging a dead man's body in the smokehouse until the widow claimed it.
Given Nimitz's sense of humor, whether this ever happened or not is pure historical speculation. He also enjoyed showing guests the General Robert E. Lee room, especially after the Civil War ended. Prior to the war, Lee passed through Fredericksburg on a few occasions while stationed in Texas. The elder Nimitz could not resist telling tall Texas tales to his guests.
The end of the Civil War brought vast new opportunities to Texas. The Nimitz Hotel served transient soldiers and their families, contractors, ranchers, consumptives seeking a cure in Texas, and a steady stream of travelers. Two stage lines stopped at the hotel. During the late 1870s, Nimitz added a second and third story to the hotel giving it the familiar steamboat appearance. The ballroom, likely an expansion of the original theatrical hall, was also built. The 1870s marked the high point of the hotel and Charles Nimitz, Sr. appears to have made no other additions.
Despite poor health, Chester Bernard Nimitz worked as a cowboy, driving cattle from Texas to Nebraska. He married Anne Henke, oldest of 12 children of Henry Henke, a butcher, and Dorothea Weirich. Chester William Nimitz was born in the Henke home on Main Street in Fredericksburg on February 24, 1885, five months after his father had died. He was baptized in the Lutheran Church as an infant.
Grandpa Nimitz invited the young widow and his new grandson to live in his hotel. There, young Chester became close to his grandfather, absorbing his values of hard work and perseverance. He also received a steady diet of his grandfather's tales about the Texas frontier and the sea.
The Statute of Liberty arrived in crates in New York aboard a French steamer on June 17, 1885.
After Anna remarried and moved to Kerrville in 1890 to operate the St. Charles Hotel, young Chester had a new father -- his Uncle William. Two siblings followed: Otto (1893-1960) and Dora (1895-1982). In Kerrville, Chester enjoyed a regular Texas Hill County childhood, fishing and hunting along the Guadalupe River, camping with his grandfather and exploring the countryside.
When not attending classes at Tivy High School in Kerrville, Chester assisted in the hotel, splitting wood, lighting fires, and tending the front desk evenings. He was a dedicated student, rising early to study before starting his daily chores.
In May 1898, the American Asiatic Squadron defeated the Spanish Pacific Squadron at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.
Chester enjoyed a happy childhood, but showed little interest in a hotel business career. He cast a wider gaze and in 1900 met two Army officers from West Point. They served with Battery K, 3rd Field Artillery, from Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. They arrived outside Kerrville for gunnery exercises. The weapons and uniforms, and the military bearing and sophistication of the two officers fascinated Nimitz. He wanted to become a soldier and laid plans to attend West Point.
The US Military Academy at West Point offered an alternative to a career in hotels. It offered opportunities for leadership, travel and distinction. The education was free for those who could endure the academic and physical rigors. Nimitz applied to Congressman James Slayden for a chance to take the entrance exams for West Point. He was disappointed to learn all appointments were filled. The US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, however, had an opening. Demonstrating the open-mindedness that later characterized his career, Nimitz seized the opportunity, even though he had never heard of Annapolis.
On December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright achieve the first powered flight in a heavier-than-air aircraft.
Through hard work and dedicated tutoring, Nimitz gained admittance to the Naval Academy in September 1901, at 16 years old. Nimitz attended at an opportune time when President Theodore Roosevelt, after the Spanish-American War, expanded and modernized the Navy. Nimitz's plebe class of 131 was the largest in the academy's history.
Determined to excel, Nimitz awoke at 4:30 each day to study. He participated in team sports, hiked, played tennis and swam to keep fit. In letters home, he described his coursework and commented on his class standing. In the classroom and on summer cruises, Nimitz proved serious-minded and capable.
Not even a bout with pneumonia distracted Nimitz from learning and doing well. Because of the work force needs of the expanding Navy, the course of study at the academy decreased by one semester. On January 30, 1905, Chester became Passed Midshipman Nimitz. He ranked seventh among the 114 cadets in his graduating class.
On September 8, 1900, a hurricane destroys much of Galveston, Texas.
Prior to reporting for duty, Nimitz visited Fredericksburg and Kerrville. His first assignment was aboard USS Ohio (BB-12), a new battleship attached to the Asiatic Fleet, based in the Philippines. When Japan celebrated victory over the Russian fleet, Ohio was in Tokyo Bay. Six American officers chose to attend, including Nimitz. At the party, Nimitz invited Marshal-Admiral Togo, the victor over Russia's Second Fleet at the battle of Tsushima (1905), over to his table for a toast and conversation. Admiral Togo left a lasting impression on the young officer.
The connection between Nimitz and Togo continued. In 1934, while Captain Nimitz commanded the cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31), flagship of the Asiatic Fleet, he attended Togo's funeral. When World War II ended, Nimitz made efforts to preserve Togo's flagship Mikasa as a monument in Tokyo Bay. Recognizing the connection between Togo and Nimitz, the people of Japan raised money to build the Japanese Garden of Peace at the Museum.
On March 2, 1910, the first military air flight occurs at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.
In January 1907, Nimitz received promotion to ensign and his first command, the 92-foot gunboat Panay. In a letter home, he admitted his new command, "... should give me a certain amount of self-reliance and confidence." In an era before radio, Nimitz enjoyed almost complete independence of command and learned much about leadership, seamanship and diplomacy.
While serving in the Philippines, Nimitz, at age 22, received command of the destroyer USS Decatur (DD-5). On the night of July 7, 1908, Nimitz, estimating his position and neglecting to check the tides, ran Decatur aground in Batangas Bay. Efforts to free the ship failed. Nimitz recalled his grandfather's advice: do not worry about matters over which you have no control. Instead, he set up a cot on deck and went to sleep. A passing steamer assisted in freeing the Decatur the next morning. This could have ruined his career in the Navy, but due to poor navigational charts of the area and his stellar record, the court martial found Nimitz guilty of neglect of duty and sentenced him to a public reprimand. His career in the Navy would continue.
On September 27, 1908, Henry Ford produces his first Model T automobile in Detroit, Michigan.
Nimitz's performance with diesel engines and submarines resulted in promotion to lieutenant commander and a new assignment as Engineering Aide to Captain Samuel Shelburne Robison, Commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet. Fleet submarines were new to the Navy, and Nimitz now had the opportunity to integrate submarines into large fleet operations. At this time, Nimitz began to shift from engineering to organization. Captain Robison recognized Nimitz's abilities and became an influential patron, sage advisor.
In February 1918, Robison's submarine fleet joined the Allied effort against Germany and the Central Powers. Nimitz served as Robison's Chief of Staff. Once in England, Nimitz learned about British submarine construction and operations. Although he experienced no combat during World War I, Nimitz received a commendation from the Secretary of the Navy for meritorious service.
In 1919, Congress ratifies the 18th Amendment to the Constitution (prohibition of alcohol).
After World War I, Nimitz served as Executive Officer aboard the USS South Carolina (BB-26). In June 1920, Nimitz received orders to build a submarine base at Pearl Harbor. With four petty officers, Nimitz scoured East Coast shipyards for the necessary equipment. The task required persuasion and ingenuity; and Commander Nimitz and his chiefs procured the material. The chiefs even conspired to get a staff car for Nimitz.
When Nimitz arrived at the proposed site for the base, he found a single pier and a plot of ground covered with cactus and dense jungle. USS Chicago (CL-14), anchored nearby, became both Nimitz's command ship and quarters for bachelor officers. Sadly, Nimitz's command ship had disabled engines and no propellers. In a year, the base was operational and Nimitz stayed on as commanding officer while also serving as Commander, Submarine Division 14 at Pearl Harbor. He rose to the challenge and completed this task in spite of severe difficulties. In the middle of 1922, Nimitz received orders to attend the Naval War College.
In Nimitz's opinion, the eleven months spent at the Naval War College during 1922-1923 prepared him for wartime command. He studied naval history, leadership, and military strategy including the conceptual circular formation, which arranged ships in widening concentric circles from a center that contained, by World War II, aircraft carriers. The war games the students played pitted the Blue fleet (US) against the Orange fleet (Japanese) and involved planning for logistical support across the wide Pacific.
After the war, Nimitz told a War College audience that because of the program of study at Newport, Rhode Island, he was able to anticipate nearly everything the Japanese Navy did during the war. The only surprise to him was the Japanese use of kamikaze attacks.
In 1920, Congress ratifies the 19th Amendment to the Constitution (women's suffrage).
In 1923, Nimitz again reported to Admiral Robison, recently selected as Commander-in-Chief, Battle Fleet. As Robison's assistant chief of staff and tactical officer, Nimitz promoted the idea of the circular formation. With the flagship USS California (BB-44) at the center, maneuvers of the Battle Fleet demonstrated an easy ability to change course and to move quickly into battle formation. Despite having to turn into the wind to launch planes, carriers were integrated into the circular formation. Still, using the circular formation at night and in bad weather proved difficult until radar became available.
When Robison and Nimitz moved on to their next assignments, however, the circular formation fell into disuse. Aircraft carriers were not assigned permanent destroyer screens until after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. By then, Nimitz was CINCPAC.
Commander Nimitz was one of six officers selected to establish the first Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) programs in the United States. Captain William Puleston, who recognized Nimitz's ability, recommended him. In fall 1926, Nimitz began the program at the University of California at Berkley. With four chief petty officers, Nimitz selected 60 volunteers for the first class. He developed curriculum and established rapport with reluctant university faculty. His winsome personality, broad experience, and knowledge overcame this lack of academic credentials. Faculty invited him to join promotion and search committees -- recognition of his ability to evaluate talent and performance.
At Berkley, Nimitz received promotion to captain. By the time Nimitz completed his NROTC assignment in 1929, enrollment had increased to 150 cadets taught by 12 commissioned and petty officers. Many of these midshipmen later served under Nimitz during the Pacific War, two of which reached the rank of rear admiral. He also developed a lifelong admiration for the university, agreeing to serve on the Board of Regents in 1948.
Nimitz was not excited about his next command -- a flotilla of 35 decommissioned destroyers at San Diego. The family lived aboard USS Rigal (AD-13), a destroyer tender. In 1933, he received orders to command the new heavy cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31), flagship of the Asiatic Fleet. Nimitz had to build a team with a new crew, and Augusta needed repairs -- just the kind of challenge Nimitz loved.
The Asiatic Fleet's task was to "show the flag" and monitor events in increasingly volatile East Asia. Reports back to Washington chronicled the rapid advance of Japanese naval capabilities. By happenstance, Augusta arrived in Tokyo harbor at the time of Admiral Togo's death. Almost thirty years earlier, Nimitz met Togo during the celebration of Togo's victory at Tsushima over the Russian fleet. In 1934, Nimitz attended the old admiral's funeral.
Nimitz served two tours in the Bureau of Navigation, the Navy's personnel office responsible for promotions and assignments. In 1935, he became Assistant to the Chief. This provided valuable insight into the detailed operation of the Navy and knowledge of its personnel.
Between assignments to BuNav, Nimitz received promotion to rear admiral and command of Battleship Division One (ill-fated USS Arizona was his flagship). By 1938, Nimitz realized any future conflict in the Pacific would require amphibious assaults of islands. He prepared plans for action against Guadalcanal, Okinawa, and other islands, foretelling future landings during World War II.
Admiral Nimitz returned to Washington in June 1939, as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. The Navy was in the midst of a $1 billion per year construction program. Nimitz recruited and trained sailors needed to operate new ships. He expanded training and increased NROTC programs from 8 to 27. He also acquired powerful friends -- Representative Carl Vinson, chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee and President Franklin Roosevelt.
In 1937, Lyndon Baines Johnson was elected to the US House of Representatives.
In the 1880s, railroads penetrated West Texas but bypassed Fredericksburg. Frontier military posts also closed. The San Antonio-El Paso Mail stagecoach lined closed in 1881 and the hotel lost business. It retained its quaint charm and respectability, and continued to appeal to some travelers. Grandpa Nimitz turned the hotel over to his son Charles in 1906.
With the advent of the automobile in the early 20th century, tourists had more mobility and options. In 1926, Charles sold the hotel to a group of locals. They opened a modern, three-story Mission Revival hotel that featured 52 rooms with hot and cold water, steam heat and telephone service. It prospered despite the Great Depression (1929-1939).
In January 1941, Nimitz declined assignment as Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor because 50 admirals had more seniority. The job went to Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, who accepted the promotion over 31 senior admirals. Nimitz was not in Naval Intelligence and had no advance warning of any eminent Japanese attack.
On December 7, 1941, he and his family had turned in to the Sunday afternoon CBS Radio broadcast of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra when an announcer interrupted with the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Nimitz called his flag secretary, Lt. (junior grade) H. Arthur Lamar, and headed for the Navy Department, unsure when he might return home.
In September 1940, Sam Rayburn becomes Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
President Roosevelt ordered Nimitz to take command of the US Pacific Fleet on December 16, 1941. With Lamar, he left Washington, D.C. via train bound for California wearing civilian clothes and traveling under an assumed name. Nimitz arrived at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Day and bore witness to the vast destruction saying, "We have taken a tremendous wallop, but I have no doubt as to the ultimate outcome."
On December 31, Nimitz took command of the Pacific Fleet aboard the submarine USS Grayling (SS-209). The choice was fitting, reflecting both the reality that much of the fleet lay at the bottom of the harbor and Nimitz's long service in submarines. He received promotion to admiral the same day. To his family he wrote, "It is a great responsibility, and I will do my utmost to meet it."
Admiral Kimmel was a friend and Nimitz felt he became a scapegoat for the disaster at Pearl Harbor. Facing a serious problem of sinking morale, Nimitz met with Kimmel's staff. Many believed they would share Kimmel's fate and lose their jobs. Instead, Nimitz expressed complete confidence in them and asked them to stay on to provide continuity. Lt. Commander Edwin T. Layton, Kimmel's intelligence officer, remained and was the only one of the group to stay at Pearl Harbor for the duration of the war. Nimitz valued Layton's knowledge of Japanese history and psychology.
Nimitz did his best to build team spirit and boost morale. He was personable and relaxed in social situations. He often invited officers from different commands to dine with him at his quarters. This bred familiarity with other commands' challenged and promoted cooperation. Nimitz often visited ships returning to Pearl Harbor in his barge. Officers and sailors appreciated the consideration.
Admiral Nimitz worked himself and his staff hard -- seven days a week. If someone needed a break, however, and there was no immediate crisis, Nimitz raised no objections. He recognized the importance of staying healthy in order to remain effective at work. Long a hiker and swimmer, Nimitz took staff on walks on the beach followed with swims in the ocean, frequently outlasting men many years younger. He and his staff also utilized tennis courts located near headquarters.
Nimitz's favorite diversions were horseshoes and target shooting. He likely pitched horseshoes in his youth in Central Texas. He found target practice relaxing, especially after stressful conferences. The concentration required for accurate shooting focused his attention and cleared his mind when faced with difficult problems. On one occasion, he invited Admiral Halsey to shoot targets. Halsey had been unavailable for Midway because he returned from carrier raids with a severe case of stress-induced dermatitis. In Nimitz's estimation, Halsey was fit to resume command if he could demonstrate the calm control needed to hit a target with consistent accuracy.
This gathering proves again that the ties that bind Texans together can be stretched a long way but cannot be broken. It shows that you can take a man out of Texas, but you cannot take Texas out of the man.
~~ From a speech delivered by Admiral Nimitz to the crowd at the Old Texas Roundup.
Admiral Nimitz made it a point to be an affable and accessible commander. As a result, his sailors loved and respected him. In January 1944, he hosted a huge party at Ala Moana Park on Oahu for all Texans serving under his command in the Pacific. Thousands of Texans partook of the Admiral's hospitality. At the Old Texas Roundup in Hawaii that day, Admiral Nimitz enjoyed pitching horseshoes with enlisted men and a picnic lunch of Texas barbeque. Estimates put approximately 40,000 sailors, soldiers and marines on hand.
1943, Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, selected to serve as a training facility for Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS).
Throughout his career, Nimitz adapted to changing circumstances and new technologies. Convinced classic sea battles between surface ships were a relic of the past, he reorganized fleet operations by replacing the Battle Fleet with amphibious forces for island invasions. He used submarines to interdict Japanese supply lines. He embraced radar, a new technology available in WWII. He also pioneered the circular cruising formation used by carrier task groups.
The days prior to the Battle of Midway demonstrated Nimitz's leadership at its best. Tension mounted as everyone at Pearl Harbor knew the Pacific Fleet was at risk. After the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, the damaged aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) limped to Hawaii trailing a ten-mile oil slick. He captain believed repairs would take 90 days. Nimitz ordered only emergency repairs be made. She sailed three days later.
Nimitz relied on information from this cryptanalysts about Japanese intentions. With their analysis, Nimitz decided to defend Midway against a larger Japanese force. The ensuing victory marked the turning point of the Pacific War.
Nimitz was astonished at the potential power of atomic weapons when briefed in February 1945. Though increasingly impatient with Japan's inability to face inevitable defeat, he considered the bomb somehow indecent and hoped its use would not be required. His intelligence officer, Commander Layton, with a deep understanding of Japanese psychology, thought it necessary.
Japanese capitulation brought disagreement over the surrender ceremony. When announced over the radio that President Truman had appointed General MacArthur Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers with authority to conduct surrender ceremonies, Nimitz muttered, "Well, that does it." He believed the Navy and Marines merited equal recognition with the Army. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal devised a compromise, which President Truman accepted. The ceremony was conducted aboard USS Missouri (BB-63), named for Truman's home state. MacArthur signed the surrender documents for the Allies and Nimitz on behalf of the United States.
July 16, 1945, the first successful detonation of a nuclear device at the Trinity test site in New Mexico occurs.
After signing the Instrument of Surrender in Tokyo Bay, Admiral Nimitz went ashore. There, he visited wounded Japanese service members in a hospital as well as Admiral Togo's flagship Mikasa, enshrined at Yokosuka Naval Base as a memorial of victory over the Russian Fleet. Recalling his admiration for and connection to the old admiral, Nimitz placed Marine guards around the ship to prevent occupying service members from damaging it or making off with souvenirs.
Long after the war, Nimitz encouraged the people of Japan to restore Mikasa and made a monetary donation. He also contributed to the restoration of the Togo Shrine. The people of Japan, admirers of Nimitz themselves, returned the gesture by raising money to have a Japanese garden built in Nimitz's home town. The Japanese Garden of Peace at this museum is the result.
World War II produced several national heroes, especially the theater commanders -- Dwight Eisenhower, Joseph Stilwell, Chester Nimitz. Large celebrations were in order. Not a publicity seeker, Nimitz saw himself instead as a representative of a victorious Navy. On October 5, 1945, he addressed Congress, and then rode in a parade along Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues to the Washington Monument. Four days later, he led a motorcade of Congressional Medal of Honor recipients in a ticker tape parade down Broadway in New York City.
Coming home, Texans feted Nimitz with parades in Dallas and Austin. In Kerrville, Nimitz accepted the high school diploma he had not received because he left early for the Naval Academy. Among those welcoming him were Susan Moore, his favorite teacher in Kerrville, and John Toland, who had tutored him for the Annapolis entrance exams. A parade in his hometown of Fredericksburg started in front of the Nimitz Hotel, where he registered as a guest.
On October 24, 1945, the United States becomes a charter member of the United Nations.
President Harry Truman did not initially support Nimitz for Chief of Naval Operations. After a meeting, however, the two found they had much in common and Truman appointed Nimitz to replace Admiral King. Admiral Nimitz relinquished command of the Pacific Fleet as he had taken it -- aboard a submarine, the time the USS Menhaden (SS-377). On November 24, 1945, Admiral Raymond Spruance relieved Nimitz as CINCPAC. Later in December, Nimitz reported to Washington, DC to serve as CNO.
Nimitz found himself still working seven days a week striving to protect the interests of the Navy. Congress passed the National Security Act of 1947, which unified the military services under the Secretary of Defense and established the US Air Force as a separate branch. Though he found unified command useful in the Pacific, Nimitz was able to retain carrier aviation and the Marine Corps within the Navy Department. On December 15, 1947, Admiral Louis Denfeld replaced Nimitz as CNO.
On April 1947, an industrial explosion at the Port of Texas City kills approximately 600 people and devastates the port facilities.
The UN hired Admiral Nimitz in March 1949, to serve as plebiscite administrator for Kashmir. India and Pakistan never agreed to sign a formal truce agreement and the election never took place. Nimitz, unable to affect change regarding Kashmir, stayed on with the UN as a good will ambassador, finally resigning in 1952.
In April 1961, Vice President Lyndon Johnson invited Admiral Nimitz to be his guest at the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall and help entertain Konrad Adenauer as the first Chancellor of West Germany and presided over her postwar reconstruction and economic boom. He also strengthened ties with France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
On April 16, Nimitz, Adenauer and Johnson landed in a helicopter at the fairgrounds in Fredericksburg. After speeches, the citizens entertained their guests with a saengerfest featuring old German songs. Adenauer also toured the town to see the old homes and buildings erected by the original German settlers. Nimitz, instead of touring, visited two aunts in separate hospitals before returning to the LBJ Ranch.
In 1961, the Manned Spacecraft Center opens in Houston (renamed Johnson Space Center in 1973 after former President Lyndon B. Johnson).
After retirement, Nimitz received offers to serve as chancellor or president of universities and high-salaried positions in business. He turned them all down believed he represented the Navy to anyone who served or lost a loved one in the Pacific War. Capitalizing on his military accomplishments seemed wrong to him. Nimitz also refused to take part in any controversies over the conduct of the war or the actions of his subordinates or of Douglas MacArthur.
Nimitz was not idle. He served eight years as a regent of the University of California. He supported institutions and activities that perpetuated naval history. During the 1960s, Nimitz's health began to fail. He died at home on February 20, 1966. Entitled to a state funeral and burial at Arlington National Cemetery, Nimitz remained modest to the end. He was lain to rest under a standard issue tombstone on February 24, 1966, in Golden Gate National Cemetery following a simple graveside service. It would have been his 81st birthday. Resting next to him are his wife, Admiral Spruance and Admiral Lockwood.
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States.
Henry Schmidt bought the hotel in 1947, operating it through the 1950s. In 1963, he sold it to a group of locals interested in creating a museum to honor Fleet Admiral Charles Nimitz. The admiral preferred a museum honoring everyone that served under this command in the Pacific instead of one dedicated solely to him. The local group agreed and started raising money. Despite considerable political and military connections, fund raising lagged.
Enthusiasm for the project surged, however, upon the death of Admiral Charles Nimitz in 1966. In February 1967, a museum opened in the old Nimitz hotel.
The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in October 1962.
Charles Nimitz, from humble origins in the Texas Hill country, rose in the Navy to command thousands of ships and planes and millions of men in the Pacific during World War II. When it ended, universities awarded him with honorary degrees (Texas, California, Harvard, Princeton, and Alabama among others). San Antonio, Kerrville, Houston and other communities named public schools after him. Cities across the country named streets and highways after Nimitz. Foreign nations awarded him high military honors.
In 1972, the Navy launched USS Nimitz (CVAN-68), the first in the Nimitz-class of nuclear powered aircraft carriers. In 1973, the US Naval Academy named the new library after the admiral. Perhaps his most enduring public legacy, however, is the peace that generations of people in the United States and Japan have enjoyed since the end of World War II.
Optimism: hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of some endeavor
Morale: the confidence, enthusiasm, and discipline of a person or group at a specific time
In the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, when Nimitz took command in the Pacific, much of the fleet lay at the bottom of the harbor. Instead of focusing on the overwhelming destruction, Nimitz pointed out the favorable aspects: the fuel tank farm, the submarine base and repair facilities remained intact, and the carriers were still afloat. By focusing on positive aspects, and by retaining much of the personnel that survived, Nimitz boosted morale at Pearl Harbor.
Maintaining high morale was important to Nimitz. During the war, he met individually with every ship captain that dropped anchor at Pearl Harbor. Therefore, each captain knew he had an identity with the fleet commander. Though extremely busy, he also made time for enlisted men. On several occasions, he visited with individuals in his office and ensured their working and living conditions were suitable.
Resourcefulness: Ability to overcome difficulties by quick and clever means.
When Nimitz received command of USS Decatur as a young ensign, the ship was out of commission, swinging on a buoy at Cavite in the Philippines. It had no provisions and lacked vital equipment. As soon as Nimitz took command, officers and crew began arriving. Despite the challenge, Nimitz had the ship in dry dock as scheduled and ready for service in two weeks.
Another challenge that tested Nimitz's abilities was constructing the submarine base at Pearl Harbor. First, he had to procure necessary machinery and equipment from naval base commanders reluctant to part with anything under their command. Then, he had to hack out a suitable space from a wilderness on Oahu prior to construction. Within a year of having received the assignment, Nimitz had an operational submarine base at Pearl Harbor.
Nimitz received orders to the Fore River Shipbuilding Company to install diesel engines aboard USS Shipjack, which he was next in line to command. In November 1911, after serving as commanding officer of USS Narwhal and Commander, Third Submarine Division, Nimitz chanced to meet Catherine Freeman over a game of bridge at her home in Wollaston, Massachusetts. Throughout 1912, Chester and Catherine grew closer and a serious courtship developed. Catherine accepted Nimitz's marriage proposal and on April 9, 1913, the couple wed at the Freeman home in Wollaston.
During Chester's absence in World War II, Catherine resided in Berkeley, California. She helped establish a naval hospital in Oakland and spoke over the radio on behalf of war bond drives, the Naval Relief Society and the American Red Cross. She also delivered special Christmas messages to Burma, the Philippines and Australia.
Diesel Engines: 1908 - 1919 ~~
Nimitz returned from China Station in 1908, reporting for duty with the First Submarine Flotilla in Groton, Connecticut. He was disappointed because he had requested service aboard battleships, considered a prize assignment. At the time, many senior officers looked unfavorably on submarines. Instead of sulking, Nimitz determined to learn all he could about submarine operations. His dedication resulted in command of many submarines.
American submarines prior to World War I utilized internal combustion gasoline engines. These engines emitted noxious fumes that could explode. In the confines of a submarine, such developments could be fatal. Nimitz advocated installing diesel engines. In 1913, Lt. Nimitz went to Germany to study diesel engines. When he returned, Nimitz became the Navy's leading diesel engine expert and received orders to supervise construction and installation of two new engines aboard the oiler USSS Maumee. Diesel manufacturing industry recruiters approached Nimitz and offered lucrative incentives to leave the Navy for the private sector. Despite the alluring prospect of making a higher salary, Nimitz remained loyal to the Navy.
"I had to go swimming yesterday, and it was awfully, awfully cold." ~~ from a letter to his future wife, Catherine Freeman
Nimitz's understated description of his act of heroism typified his personality. In March 1912, he commanded the submarine USS Skipjack. After a crew member, Fireman Second Class W.J. Walsh, slipped overboard into Chesapeake Bay, Nimitz plunged into the frigid water. Fighting the cold and current, Nimitz kept the panicking sailor afloat until picked up by a boat from USS North Dakota.
His lifelong habit of swimming to keep fit had paid dividends. His personal courage and the responsibility he assumed for the wellbeing of his crew earned him the US Treasury Department's Silver Lifesaving Medal, which adorned his uniform for the rest of his career.
Because of his diesel expertise, Nimitz gave demonstrations to visiting naval and civilian engineers. Once, when answering questions from a large group, he pointed to a particular spot without looking. Rotating gears caught his glove and pulled his hand into the machinery. His Naval Academy class ring stopped the mechanism and saved his hand, but he lost part of his finger. Had he lost use of his hand, or suffered greater injury, Nimitz's naval career might have ended early.
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