In that year, several local businessmen decided to turn the nimitz hotel, up there on main street, into a memorial to local son, fleet admiral chester nimitz. Since then, the museum has evolved to become one of the. Recognizing that these collections are an invaluable resource for historians and students of history, we established the nimitz education and research center, a premier destination for scholars of pacific war. National museum of the pacific war symposium trent hone. The founders of the museum chose to honor admiral nimitz by creating a museum of the pacific war right in his hometown.
This extensive national museum of the pacific war now provides enactments of fighting and has gone well beyond merely memorializing admiral nimitzs life and naval career to include much of what occurred during the times when fighting the pacific war during world war ii. The hotel owned by nimitz s grandfather charles henry nimitz was restored to its original design and renamed the admiral nimitz museum by an act of the texas legislature in 1968. The admiral nimitz foundation was established in 1971 as a 501 c3 to provide additional development funding for the national museum of the pacific war. Admiral nimitz museum national museum of the pacific war in. Dedicated to all those who served in the pacific war. Pacific fleet during world war ii and was later promoted to the new rank of fleet admiral. Admiral nimitz state historic site, fredericksburg. Naval academy and former naval officer who served in the pacific during world war ii, is the author of several books, including nimitz, admiral arleigh burke, and sea power. Chester nimitz was an admirals admiral, considered by many to be the greatest naval leader of the last century.
This new museum is the culmination of an effort begun almost 20 years ago, says john c. Bush gallery and is flanked by the admiral nimitz museum, pacific combat zone, plaza of presidents, japanese. The george bush gallery, the first element of the national museum of the pacific war, opened in june of 1999 and the pacific combat zone opened in december of 2001. With one of the largest, most comprehensive collection of books and gift items connected with wwii in the. The pacific war museum is really more than just a museum. National museum of the pacific war fredericksburg, texas atlas. The nimitz foundation funds the national museum of the pacific war and the admiral nimitz museum, fredericksburg, texas.
We established the original nimitz museum in the former nimitz hotel. Located on the site of the old nimitz museum in the birthplace of admiral chester nimitz, the national museum of the pacific war was established in 2000. Nimitz served as cincpac, commander in chief, united states pacific fleet and was soon afterward named commander in chief, pacific ocean areas during world war ii. I think it would be best to begin by briefly providing a backdrop to the evolution of the archives at the national museum of the pacific war. How the national museum of the pacific war helped make. The admiral nimitz foundation looks forward to seeing you at this years symposiums and would like to thank all those who support the foundation. The six acre site includes the admiral nimitz museum which is housed in the old nimitz hotel and tells. The museum has a bookstore that sells a wide variety of books and dvds. The admiral nimitz foundation supports, operates, and manages the national museum of the pacific war. The admiral nimitz foundation museum store national museum of. A naval history, which he wrote with admiral nimitz.
His accomplishments, contributions, and 61 years of service led to advancements in command strategy, naval education, goodwill measures, and the engineering and building of gas, diesel, and nuclear engines for navy vessels especially submarines. We took about 3 hours and while we did not view every film or read every display, i feel like we learned a lot of new things about this part of wwii. Newsletter of the admiral nimitz foundation and national museum of the pacific war, a property of the texas historical commissionthird quarter 2015. National museum of the pacific war exhibits tour texas. The digital archive of the national museum of the pacific war include collections from the nimitz education and research center archives. The national museum of the pacific war has three main features related to. The nimitz state historic site is included in the museum cost of the pacific war museum and tells some about the history of fredericksburg and the settling of the area by german immigrants. Admiral nimitz museum national museum of the pacific war at. National museum of the pacific war the handbook of texas. In 2000, the complex was renamed admiral nimitz state historic site national museum of the pacific war and is dedicated. Mar 22, 2019 this extensive national museum of the pacific war now provides enactments of fighting and has gone well beyond merely memorializing admiral nimitz s life and naval career to include much of what occurred during the times when fighting the pacific war during world war ii.
National museum of the pacific war fredericksburg, texas interview with donald dencker u. National museum of the pacific war admiral nimitz miniature. Chester henry nimitz february 24, 1885february 20, 1966 served as commander in chief of the u. Bush gallery in 2009, fabricating the pacific combat zone in 2017, and most recently fabricating the displays for the recently opened admiral nimitz gallery. The national museum of the pacific war is the only institution in the continental united states dedicated exclusively to telling the story of the battles in the pacific theater during the second world war. Bush gallery and is flanked by the admiral nimitz museum, pacific combat zone, plaza of presidents, japanese garden of peace, the memorial courtyard, and a new nimitz education. All proceeds benefit the admiral nimitz foundation which operates and manages the national museum of the pacific war. They have also published several books related to the symposia series and manuscripts. Built in the late 1800s, it was previously the steamboat hotel and was owned as well as operated by the admiral. Trent hone, author of learning war, will be speaking at the national museum of the pacific war symposium. Changes and challenges in the archives at the national.
It is an educational experience and sobering at the same time. Kerry, chairman of the admiral nimitz foundation that runs the museum. When none was available, he took a competitive examination for. The web site includes a page with a detailed history of fleet admiral nimitz, but it has little information on specific museum exhibits.
He played a major role in the naval history of world war ii as commander in chief, u. The commander of the pacific ocean theater offers a quick and informative read that introduces the reader to one of the u. Accorded a heros welcome at home, the quiet, selfeffacing officer described himself as merely a representative of the brave men. National museum of the pacific war world war ii social place.
The history walk of the pacific is a living history museum. Admiral nimitz was a native of fredericksburg and the museum has a small museum with itself devoted to him. Admiral nimitz wwii museum national museum of the pacific. The national museum of the pacific war web site provides an overview of the museum layout with separate pages describing the main parts and showing photos. Nimitz book and gift shop fredericksburg 2020 all you need to. National museum of the pacific war admiral nimitz museum. Bush gallery and is flanked by the admiral nimitz museum, pacific combat zone, plaza of presidents, japanese garden of peace, the memorial courtyard, and a new. Jun 29, 2018 the network enlisted the resources of the national museum of the pacific war, located in admiral chester nimitz s hometown of fredericksburg, tx, to help tell the stories captured in the. The only us museum devoted exclusively to the pacific war, in which over 100,000 american military personnel lost their lives, spreads through three sites in downtown fredericksburg. The original intent was to focus only as a memorial to fleet admiral chester nimitz. The hotel founded by admiral nimitzs grandfather in the mid19th century preserves the history of the nimitz family and is a natural link to the national museum of the pacific war. National museum of the pacific war warfare history network. The national museum of the pacific war is a massive campus of buildings and areas devoted to the pacific war.
The admiral nimitz gallery, george bush gallery of the pacific war, the plaza of the presidents, japanese garden of peace, memorial walk, and the pacific combat zone are all part of the national museum of the pacific war, which was tabbed as the fifthbest history museum in the united states in 2020 by usa today readers. The national museum of the pacific war is located in fredericksburg, texas, the boyhood home of fleet admiral chester w. Fredericksburg, a town in the texas hill country an hours drive from san antonio or 90 minutes from austin, seems an odd place to house the national museum of. The network enlisted the resources of the national museum of the pacific war, located in admiral chester nimitzs hometown of fredericksburg, tx, to help tell the stories captured in the. The admiral nimitz foundation and national museum of the pacific war directly benefit from your purchases at the george h. Admiral nimitz state historic site fredericksburg 2020. Chester nimitz was an admiral s admiral, considered by many to be the greatest naval leader of the last century. After the attack on pearl harbor, nimitz assembled the forces, selected the leaders, and as commander of all u. Admiral nimitz museum experience the life and career of admiral nimitz, one of the more prominent figures of world war ii who was born and raised in fredericksburg. National museum of the pacific war a photo essay armchair. One truly learns more about the person, other than what you see on tv.
The george bush gallery and its animatronic experience is another portion of the museum, as are quieter outdoor exhibits memorializing both sides. For current visiting hours, please visit the website of the. Admiral nimitz museum this building is the original location of the museum before the facility expanded and outgrew it. Admiral nimitz museum national museum of the pacific war. Sorry, there are no tours or activities available to book online for the dates you selected. Admiral nimitz foundation national museum of the pacific war. National museum of the pacific war, fredericksburg tripadvisor. Nov 01, 20 nimitz did not grow up alongside an ocean, or even a lake. We wanted to build the largest, finest, and most comprehensive exhibit dedicated exclusively to the second world war in the pacific. Sep 21, 2019 trent hone, author of learning war, will be speaking at the national museum of the pacific war symposium. Nimitz did not grow up alongside an ocean, or even a lake.
Find an exciting museum to visit where you live or vacation today. Nov 17, 2016 the admiral nimitz foundation, the support organization for the museum, raised money to restore the old nimitz hotel as the admiral nimitz museum. We tour the national museum of the pacific war in fredericksburg, texas, to see world war ii artifacts and learn about admiral chester nimitz. The national museum of the pacific war was a great experience for my wife and i. Admiral nimitz state historic site this site provides a history of admiral nimitz, from childhood through his military career. Established in the late 60s, the original museum was housed in the nimitz hotel and was intended to honor the great admiral nimitz. We visited the main gallery of the pacific war museum and the following day we visited admiral nimitz historic site as the ticket is good for 48 hours. The small population 12,000, centraltexas town of fredericksburg, about an hours drive west of austin and a little more than that northwest of san antonio, may seem an odd location for the national museum of the pacific war until one realizes that fredericksburg is the hometown of fleet admiral chester nimitzthe eisenhower of the pacific theater. All of this history is showcased in the national museum of the pacific wars exhibits, the likes of which you can find out more about below. I really enjoyed learning more about admiral nimitz and how his early childhood shaped his future career. Admiral chester william nimitz contributed to the success of the united states navy from his beginnings at annapolis 1905 to this very day.
May 11, 2019 admiral nimitz museum this building is the original location of the museum before the facility expanded and outgrew it. The george bush gallery, the first element of the national museum of the pacific war, opened in june of 1999 and the pacific combat zone opened in. The national museum of the pacific war family rving magazine. National museum of the pacific war nimitz education and. Nimitz, a native son of fredericksburg who achieved greatness as commander of the central pacific theater in world war ii. The museum consists of several exhibitions, each telling a part of the story. Changes and challenges in the archives at the national museum. The huge george hw bush gallery, complementing gripping footage of the conflict with actual planes and submarines, is the place to learn the full story. The national museum of the pacific war in fredericksburg includes the restored nimitz hotel, which now houses the admiral nimitz museum, the george bush gallery, the veterans memorial walk, the plaza of presidents, the japanese garden of peace, the pacific war combat zone, and the center for pacific war studies. Built in the late 1800s, it was previously the steamboat hotel and was owned as well as operated by the admirals grandfather. Dedicated to all those who served in the pacific war, the museum has expanded and gone under expansive renovation over the last 10 years to make it the worlds premier museum about world war iis pacific theater.
Phase i of the major r e n o v a t i o n s planned for the. Do you need to book in advance to visit national museum of the pacific war. Attractions near admiral nimitz state historic site. These papers document all phases of admiral chester nimitzs career. National museum of the pacific war the handbook of. In addition among other honors namesake of the uss nimitz, the first nuclearpowered supercarrier.
Pacific fleet and commander in chief, pacific ocean areas, commanding allied air, land, and sea forces during world war ii nimitz was the leading us navy authority on. The worldclass national museum of the pacific war recalls the. In that role, he commanded all land and sea forces in the central pacific area. Young chester, however, had his sights set on an army career and while a student at tivy high school, kerrville, texas, he tried for an appointment to west point. Pacific fleet and commander in chief, pacific ocean areas, commanding allied air, land, and sea forces during world war ii. Besides books, the space also offers collectables, souvenirs, games and more. A small part of the nimitz museum documents the history of the hotel and the nimitz family but must of the museum is dedicated to the life of admiral. Pacific fleet and pacific ocean areas, hauled down his flag at pearl harbor and relieved fleet admiral king as chief of naval operations. Chester william nimitz was born on 24 february 1885, near a quaint hotel in fredericksburg, texas built by his grandfather, charles nimitz, a retired sea captain.
February 24, 1885 february 20, 1966 was a fleet admiral of the united states navy. The national museum of the pacific formerly the admiral nimitz museum was chosen for its dedication to perpetuating the memory of the pacific theater of wwii in order that the sacrifices of. No visit to fredericksburg would be complete without a stop at the national museum of the pacific war. The admiral nimitz foundation, the support organization for the museum, raised money to restore the old nimitz hotel as the admiral nimitz museum. National museum of the pacific war fredericksburg, usa. Admiral nimitz national museum of the pacific war users without a subscription are not able to see the full content.
It will be held on 21 september 2019 from 9am to 5pm at the university of texas san antonios utsa main campus student union, retama auditorium, and is. National museum of the pacific war the admiral nimitz. Allied pacific naval chieftains meet at guam admiral raymond a. We toured the national museum of the pacific war in fredericksburg, texas to learn about admiral chester nimitz, commander of the u. The national museum of the pacific war admiral nimitz. Susan okonski volunteer oral historian admiral nimitz. Fleet admiral chester william nimitz war history online. National museum of the pacific war symposium trent hone u. Navys leading personalities of the twentieth century. Bush gallery museum store, the national museum of the pacific war command post and the online museum store. Spruance, admiral sir bruce fraser royal navy, fleet admiral nimitz 9 aug up spirits fleet admiral nimitz, cdr. They are especially important for the period 19471966, for nimitzs service as commanderinchief, us pacific fleet and pacific ocean areas from 1941 to 1945, and as chief of naval operations, 19451947.
View all attractions near admiral nimitz state historic site on tripadvisor. The national museum of the pacific war command post features hardtofind books featuring world war ii in the pacific. Eci has worked with the national museum of the pacific war for over a decade, first helping the museum to expand the george h. In 1971, the nimitz foundation was created to provided additional development funding for the museum of the extraordinary fleet admiral chester w. Located in the historic nimitz hotel, on main street in downtown fredericksburg, the admiral nimitz museum is the natural link to the national museum of the pacific war. Its a campus of various buildings and areas devoted to the pacific war.
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