On December 17th, 1941 (ten days after Pearl Harbor), Roosevelt promoted him to Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet with the rank of Admiral. Peace, War, Sea. She held this job until her death, due to cancer, on February 27, 2006. From 1940 to 1941, Nimitz served as president of the Army Navy Country Club, in Arlington, Virginia. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Nimitz served in World War I as chief of staff to the commander of the U.S. Atlantic submarine force, a tour of duty that convinced him of the effectiveness of submarine warfare. Admiral Nimitz was the US signer of the peace treaty with Japan after their surrender in WWII aboard the battleship Missouri. He died at his home on Yerba Buena Island, CA on February 20, 1966. Command Summary of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN Nimitz "Graybook" 7 December 1941 - 31 August 1945 Volume 1 of 8 Running Estimate and Summary maintained by Captain James M. Steele, USN, CINCPAC staff at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, covering the period 7 December 1941 to 31 August 1942 The 8 volumes are paginated as follows: ISBN 1949267261. Nimitz was responsible for the victories at Midway and Okinawa among others. His primary male role model was his hardy, sea-loving grandfather, who had been a German Merchant Marine, one of the first Texas Rangers, and a Confederate captain. Capturing the islands, Allied forces next fought a bloody battle for Peleliu and then secured Angaur and Ulithi. Ernest Kings operational orders to Nimitz were to secure and hold the communication and supply lines between Midway, Hawaii, and the West Coast and, second, maintain a similar lifeline between the West Coast and Australia. Those orders governed the Navys strategy in the Pacific throughout 1942 and beyond. The best way to get along with either is to learn all you can, then do your best and don't worry especially about things over which you have no control. Explore our vast collection of videos and webinars. His grandfather told him the sea like life itself is a stern taskmaster. That summer, the U.S. Navy dispatched Nimitz to Nuremberg, Germany and Ghent, Belgium to study diesel technology. As a teenager, Nimitz met two officers from West Point, and he soon longed for an appointment to West Point. With the U.S. entry into World War I, Nimitz oversaw the first underway refuelings as Maumee aided the first American destroyers crossing the Atlantic to the war zone. His childhood home was the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg, TX which was built with the essence and elements of a ship so that Grandfather Nimitz would feel connected to the sea he missed so much. The interactions among the four five-star admirals and the many other naval officers and government officials they dealt with in the war can be hugely confusing. He had parallel responsibility for naval operations in the Atlantic, where he was credited with providing crucial support to the British struggle against the Nazi U-boats that threatened to starve the British people. Chester W Nimitz Jr, retired admiral known for his organizational skills, planned his and his wife's suicides with same meticulous care he showed during his long career; Nimitz was 86 and his wife . Admiral Nimitz was victorious in the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, and the Solomon Islands Campaign. Replacing Fleet Admiral Ernest J. Far from the Pacific Ocean and the islands where much of World War II in the Pacific was fought, Fredericksburg, Texas seems an unlikely location for the National Museum of the Pacific War. While bolstering his education with naval command training at the Navy War College in the 1920s, Nimitz worked on a hypothetical plan for how to win engagements in a Pacific War. World War II: Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. He lives in Colorado, where he has practiced law. They were children of the Victorian Era. [9], After commanding the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla from May 1912 to March 1913, he supervised the building of diesel engines for the fleet oil tanker Maumee, under construction at the New London Ship and Engine Company, Groton, Connecticut.[11]. Chester William Nimitz Graduate, U.S. While General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief, Southwest Pacific Area, advanced through New Guinea, Nimitz began a campaign of "island hopping" across the Pacific. Chester W. Nimitz, USN 1928", "A Deluge of Honors for an Exasperating Admiral", "Admiral Nimitz Resigns U.N. By the end of 1911, he was Commander 3rd Submarine Division Atlantic Torpedo Fleet. And one by one, as their talents became unmistakably clear, they each received a fifth star, becoming the only five-star admirals in American history. He served in that position throughout the war and was at FDRs side at many of the nine Allied war conferences where the President met with Winston Churchill and other British and Allied leaders. Within six months of Pearl Harbor, Nimitzs forces already began to turn the tide with a brilliant victory at the Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942). After brilliantly leading American forces to victory in World War II, Fleet Admiral Nimitz, the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, hauled down his flag at Pearl Harbor and relieved Fleet Admiral King as Chief of Naval Operations. And thats compounded by the fact that, even though all four men reached the exalted rank of five-star Fleet Admiral, they were at different levels in the wartime hierarchy. After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Nimitz was chief engineer of Maumee while the vessel served as a refueling ship for the first squadron of US Navy destroyers to cross the Atlantic, to take part in the war. Had another general been in charge in the Philippines in December 1941, he would surely have been relieved of his command for dereliction of duty. This affidavit may have been one of the reasons Donitz was only required to serve 10 years. Unaccountably, although he knew war was comingand had nine hours warning after the attack on Pearl HarborMacArthur left his airplanes sitting wingtip-to-wingtip on the tarmac, where they were destroyed by the Japanese. Throughout the war in the Pacific, Nimitz made effective use of his submarine force, which conducted a highly effective campaign against Japanese shipping. While in this assignment, he married Catherine Vance Freeman in April 1913. That October, he was appointed a senior member of the Board of Submarine Design. He and his wife, Catherine, moved to Berkeley, California. Shifting his headquarters from Pearl Harbor to Guam in January 1945, Nimitz oversaw the capture of Iwo Jima two months later. He used that training to build the diesel engines of the Maumee when he returned to the U.S., becoming the executive and engineer officer of that vessel. Brayton Harris has written a compelling biography of a low-key hero." Evan Thomas, author of Sea of Thunder and John Paul Jones "Admiral Nimitz is a superbly written biography of one of the towering but least known heroes of World War II. ThoughtCo, Apr. New York . Nimitz was denied entry into West Point, but was offered a seat at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Nimitz had failed to check the harbor's tide tables and tried Batangas' harbor when the water level was low, leaving Decatur stuck until the tide rose again the next morning, and she was pulled free by a small steamer. The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place from 4-7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The USSNimitz supercarrier, the lead ship of her class, is named after him. December 15, 1945-December 15, 1947. A member of the academy's crew team, he graduated with distinction on January 30, 1905, ranked seventh in a class of 114. He also had the command of the USS Plunger, the USS Snapper, and the USS Narwhal by November of 1910. When Chester Nimitz took command in the Pacific as CINCPAC (Commander in Chief, Pacific) in January 1942, most of his fleet lay on the bottom of the ocean. US troops didnt actively engage the Axis elsewhere before November 1942, when Dwight Eisenhower launched the Allied invasion of North Africa. On September 2, Nimitz was aboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) as part of the Allied delegation to receive the Japanese surrender. Naval Institute Oral History Program. In January 1944 on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, he hosted an Old Texas Roundup for all Texans serving in the Pacific. On August 10, 1917, Nimitz became aide to Rear Admiral Samuel S. Robison, Commander, Submarine Force, US Atlantic Fleet (ComSubLant). As part of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz's plans to meet the expected Japanese attack on Midway, Rear Admiral Robert H. English gave a dozen submarines the basic task of defending the atoll. His classmates said of him that he was a man of cheerful yesterdays and confident tomorrows. Soon after the wars end, Nimitz came home to Texas. Nimitz participated in fundraising to help restore the Japanese Imperial Navy battleship, the Mikasa, with the intention of restoring goodwill with Japan. And the leadership shown by the four five-star admirals ensured the US response would be powerful and effective. [23] Ernest King (1878-1956) may have been the most overlooked strategist of the Allied planning councils. He commanded the US Navy during World War II and was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Losing the battleship fleet would have proved fatal in an earlier era. [24][25], On September 2, 1945, Nimitz signed as representative of the United States when Japan formally surrendered on board USSMissouri in Tokyo Bay. Nimitz was the US Navys leading authority on submarines, and in World War I, he pioneered the new technique of refueling ships at sea, which proved to be crucial in the later war in the Pacific. He left behind a legacy of leadership characterized by determination, optimism, resourcefulness, decisiveness, and most of all, humility. During his two years in office, Nimitz was tasked with scaling back the U.S. Navy to a peacetime level. https://www.thoughtco.com/fleet-admiral-chester-w-nimitz-2361118 (accessed June 27, 2023). His personal visits to sailors and soldiers in the field consistently boosted morale. He seized the opportunity with characteristic zeal. With airfields in the Marianas operational, B-29 Superfortresses began bombing the Japanese home islands. Nimitz was the leading US Navy authority on submarines. After the war, he served briefly as Chief of Naval Operations and then moved to Berkeley where he and his wife lived from 1947 to 1964. Chester William Nimitz GCB (24 February 1885 - 20 February 1966) was a Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy. FDR ordered Nimitz to, get the hell out to Pearl Harbor and dont come back until the war is won. On December 31, Nimitz took command of the Pacific Fleet aboard the submarine USS Grayling (SS-209), and on the same day, he was promoted to Admiral. [17], Nimitz, in Hawaii, and his superior Admiral Ernest King, the Chief of Naval Operations, in Washington, rejected the plan of General Douglas MacArthur to advance on Japan through New Guinea and the Philippines and Formosa. He used that training to build the diesel engines of the Maumee when he returned to the U.S., becoming the executive and engineer officer of that vessel. His congressman, James L. Slayden, told him that he had one appointment available for the United States Naval Academy and that he would award it to the best-qualified candidate. That plan was later used in the Pacific Theater during WWII. Jinny McCormick is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE. He was court-martialed and received a letter of reprimand. Leading the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla from May 1912 to March 1913, Nimitz was assigned to oversee the construction of diesel engines for the tanker USS Maumee. For the postwar trial of German Grand Admiral Karl Dnitz at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946, Nimitz furnished an affidavit in support of the practice of unrestricted submarine warfare, a practice that he himself had employed throughout the war in the Pacific. He was awarded the Navy Cross and three Silver Stars for valor in battle. CHESTER NIMITZ FROM BIRTH TO ANNAPOLIS GRADUATE IN 20 SHORT YEARS. 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. Nimitz has since been excoriated for this decision. In 1947, in answer to interrogatories by the German Adm. Karl Dnitz, on trial for war crimes, Nimitz gave his justification for the unrestricted nature of U.S. submarine warfare in the Pacific during World War II. Host an Event 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. He was the leading U.S. Navy authority on . In later years, he served as chief of naval operations for the United States. He is an author, entrepreneur, and impact investor who is one of three Nimitz." After William Leahy, he was the most senior naval officer in the war. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. For a civilian without a military background, reading The Admirals can be challenging at times, with mysterious military titles forever cropping up. The young Chester had as his home and playground a ships bridge and a pilot house that looked out not over the sea, but out on the Texas hills. During WWII, he organized his single fleet into separate staff with supporting directives, so that while one did this, the other could do that. In January 1945, Nimitz moved the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet forward from Pearl Harbor to Guam for the remainder of the war. Returning to sea in May 1919, Nimitz was made executive officer of the battleship USS South Carolina (BB-26). Nimitz Commissioning Ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia", "Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Biographical Sketch", Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, "From Our Archive: The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps by Capt. Donate to Berkeleysideand support independent local journalism. With E.B. Returning home, he was transferred to the submarine service in early 1909. Nagumos planes had failed to destroy the strategically important oil storage tanks on Oahu, which contained 4.5 million barrels of fuel oil. By having one staff commanding and the other planning upcoming assaults, the Japanese were continuously deluded into thinking the Navy fleet was much larger. Admiral Nimitz was the US signer of the peace treaty with Japan after their surrender in WWII aboard the battleship Missouri. Although MacArthur performed admirably for the most part as American proconsul in Japan, he showed his true colors a few years later when he took command of United Nations forces in Korea. The best way to get along with either is to learn all you can, then do your best and dont worry especially about things over which you have no control.. Lilly, Michael A., Capt., USN (Ret), "Nimitz at Ease", Stairway Press, 2019. However, when the time came to plan an invasion of Japan, MacArthur was given overall command. William D. Leahy (1875-1959), the least well-known of the nine five-star military leaders, met then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War I. However, since the rank of fleet admiral is a lifetime appointment, he remained on active duty for the rest of his life, with full pay and benefits. Viewing the U.S. Nimitz as a teenager with his grandfather, At the height of the Pacific War, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz commanded more than two million men and women, 5,000 ships and 20,000 planes, but one would not have predicted that distinguished future judging by Nimitzs first command. The remains of many men who died under his command had been repatriated and rested before him. The Battle of the Coral Sea, while a loss in terms of total damage suffered, has been described as resulting in the strategic success of turning back an apparent Japanese invasion of Port Moresby on the island of New Guinea. With the conclusion of the war, Nimitz departed the Pacific to accept the position of Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). Bush Gallery, Nimitz Gallery, and Museum Stores are open 9am to 5pm, Wednesday through Monday. The National Museum of the Pacific War is a Texas Historical Commission property operated by the Admiral Nimitz Foundation. Three decades later, naval historian Nathan Miller described the event as "Nimitz's major mistake of the war." Yet Nimitz made few rash decisions in 44 months as CinCPac/CinCPOA. [15] He had a significant advantage in that the United States had cracked the Japanese diplomatic naval code and had made progress on the naval code JN-25. He was present for a parade in his honor on that day in 1945 and on October 17th, 1964 on Nimitz Day at the University of California. In that role, he commanded all land and sea forces in the central Pacific area. He was honored with parades in Dallas and Austin. Nimitz's wife remained in the continental United States for the duration of the war and did not join her husband in Hawaii or Guam. In the summer of 1913, Nimitz (who spoke fluent German) studied engines at the Maschinenfabrik-Augsburg-Nrnberg (M.A.N.) In May of that year, he was given command of the flotilla, with additional duty in command of USSPlunger, later renamed A-1. (It was also known as the Joint Chiefs of Staff.) A brilliant strategist who never sought the limelight, Chester Nimitz was an incomparable leader . He was appointed to the Naval Academy from Texas's 12th congressional district in 1901, and he graduated with distinction on January 30, 1905, seventh in a class of 114.[8]. Nor is it likely that the average reader will understand how ranks in the US Navy compare to those in the Army. Seeking to block this thrust, the Imperial Japanese Navy dispatched a large force to the area. On December 14, 1944, by Act of Congress, Nimitz was promoted to the newly created rank of Fleet Admiral (five-star). With reinforcements arriving, Nimitz shifted to the offensive and began a protracted campaign in the Solomon Islands in August, centered on the capture of Guadalcanal. Affordable Housing Guide | Remembering Gus Newport | From Kharkiv to Berkeley | Get The Scene, our new arts newsletter | We're hiring: Food editor. In September 1938 he took command of Battleship Division 1, Battle Force. Promoted to lieutenant in January 1910, Nimitz commanded several early submarines before being named Commander, 3rd Submarine Division, Atlantic Torpedo Fleet in October 1911. [2] Nimitz was court-martialed and found guilty of neglect of duty, but due to his otherwise excellent record and willingness to admit his own fault, was only issued a letter of reprimand. His frail, rheumatic father had died six months earlier, on August 14, 1884. One of those boats, Trout, had made three war patrols since the war began, and had an experienced commander, Lt. Comdr. [30][31][32], Nimitz became a member of the Bohemian Club of San Francisco. Prominent in the San Francisco-area community, he served as a regent of the University of California from 1948 to 1956. Returning to the New York Navy Yard, he became executive and engineer officer of Maumee at her commissioning on October 23, 1916. A fast learner, he started instruction in the First Submarine Flotilla in January of 1909 and had command of the flotilla by May. In the mid-1960s, citizens of Fredericksburg sought to honor its hometown hero with a museum revering his military accomplishments. From modest beginnings, Chester W. Nimitz earned his way to the pinnacle of the U.S. Navy, but more importantly, he led our naval victory over Japan in WWII. This drive opened with the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign from November 1943 to February 1944, followed by the destruction of the strategic Japanese base at Truk Lagoon, and the Marianas campaign that brought the Japanese homeland within range of new strategic bombers. In succeeding years, the historic battles of the Solomon Islands (194243), the Gilbert Islands (1943), the Marshalls, Marianas, Palaus, and Philippines (1944), and Iwo Jima and Okinawa (1945) were fought under his direction. Nimitz was born on February 24, 1885 in Fredericksburg, Texas to parents of German descent. (The fourth member of the Joint Chiefs was General Henry H. (Hap) Arnold of the Army Air Force, but he answered to Marshall and was not an equal.). On October 5, 1945, which had been officially designated as "Nimitz Day" in Washington, D.C., Nimitz was personally presented a second Gold Star for the third award of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal by President Harry S. Truman "for exceptionally meritorious service as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, from June 1944 to August 1945."[26]. With the war winding down in September 1918, he saw duty in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations and was a member of the Board of Submarine Design. It was hubris to imagine that the Empire could successfully defend it all against the gathering might of the worlds biggest industrial power. Privacy Policy. On March 30, 1942, Nimitz was also made Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas giving him control of all Allied forces in the central Pacific. Long before Pearl Harbor, American shipyards laid the keels of a new generation of warships, budgets for the Army and Navy were greatly increased, the Selective Service Act of 1940 was signed into war, the scientific community began to mobilize, and the foundation was established to ramp up industrial production to meet the exigencies of a vast new war. He worked to help restore goodwill with Japan after World War II by helping to raise funds for the restoration of the Japanese Imperial Navy battleship Mikasa, Admiral Heihachiro Togo's flagship at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905. This ingenious plan led to the future honing of command procedures. Admiral Nimitz, a graduate of the U.S. It also helps your family, friends and Berkeley neighbors have access to reliable, independent reporting. Stone, Christopher B. Enhance your experience at the Museum check out our calendar to see what's new. In 1945, Nimitz's forces launched successful amphibious assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa and his carriers raided the home waters of Japan. For two of the five-star admirals, Leahy and King, the war was global. The following month, they scored a decisive triumph over the Japanese at the Battle of Midway. He was the last officer to ever serve as Fleet Admiral, he was Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Internal Security and Individual Rights, a roving ambassador for the United Nations, the first professor of Naval Science at the University of California, a regent of the University of California, and in retirement was Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy in the Western Sea Frontier. Hickman, Kennedy. He was the son of U.S. Navy Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz . After he suffered a serious fall in 1964, he and Catherine moved to US Naval quarters on Yerba Buena Island in the San Francisco Bay. Pfannes, Charles E., and Victor A. Salamone. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Nonprofit news. Returning, he became one of the service's foremost experts on diesel engines. Nimitz visited Fredericksburg for the last time in 1961 at the invitation of Vice President Lyndon Johnson. On September 16, he reported to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and on October 25 was given additional duty as senior member, Board of Submarine Design. King. When Nimitz was first married, before WWI, he and his wife spent time in Germany and Belgium where he was educated on the building of diesel engines. Chester W. Nimitz, (born Feb. 24, 1885, Fredericksburg, Texas, U.S.died Feb. 20, 1966, near San Francisco), commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War II. [46][47][48][49] He lies alongside his wife and his long-term friends Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Admiral Richmond K. Turner, and Admiral Charles A. Lockwood and their wives, an arrangement made by all of them while living.[50]. "World War II: Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was serving as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation when the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Chester W. Nimitz (1885-1966) was Commander-in-Chief of the US Pacific Fleet and led all Allied air, land, and sea forces in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. King, Nimitz took office on December 15, 1945. When the Pacific theater was divided into three areas of command in 1942, Admiral Nimitz was given command over all sea, air, and ground units of the Pacific Ocean Areas as their Commander in Chief. He was the United States' last surviving officer who served in the rank of fleet admiral. When the Pacific theater was divided into three areas of command in 1942, Admiral Nimitz was given command over all sea, air, and ground units of the Pacific Ocean Areas as their Commander in Chief. Traveling west, he arrived at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Day. In October 1933, he was given command of the cruiser USS Augusta. This was a key reason why the German admiral's life was spared and a relatively short prison sentence was given. 75 Copy quote. Officially taking command on December 31, Nimitz immediately began efforts to rebuild the Pacific Fleet and halt the Japanese advance across the Pacific. He held a variety of posts at sea and on shore until 1939, when he was appointed chief of the Bureau of Navigation of the U.S. Navy. In 1918, during WWI, he was appointed Chief of Staff to Admiral Samuel S. Robinson the Commander of the Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet and was awarded a Letter of Commendation for meritorious service. Unfortunately, there were no appointments available. [2] He was promoted to the rank of admiral, effective December 31, 1941, upon assuming command. With this information, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, could develop a plan to combat the invasion. While bolstering his education with naval command training at the Navy War College in the 1920s, Nimitz worked on a hypothetical plan for how to win engagements in a Pacific War. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). . The Maumee, with Nimitz on board, was the first vessel to conduct underway refuelings. Megan Tzeng, "The Battle of Okinawa, 1945: Final turning point in the Pacific". Late in the war, as Roosevelts congestive heart failure limited his work day to four hours or less, Leahy, already the equivalent of national security adviser as well as chief of staff and the nations most senior military officer, increasingly spoke for the President himself. The Maumee, with Nimitz on board, was the first vessel to conduct underway refuelings. Naval engagements during the Battle of Guadalcanal left both forces severely depleted. True to his humble character, Nimitz said, No. Instead, he agreed to a museum that honored all the everyday people who served with him in WWII. That plan was later used in the Pacific Theater during WWII.
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