Military Monday: Admiral Nimitz Museum, Fredericksburg, Texas

Nimitz Hotel & Museum, 20 September 2011 / Mike Fisher / CC BY 2.0

The Admiral Nimitz Museum, pictured at left, is the entry to the National Museum of the Pacific War, a complex spreading over six acres and nearly two full city blocks in downtown Fredericksburg, Texas.  It is the only institution in the United States dedicated exclusively to telling the story of the Pacific and Asiatic Theaters in World War II. 

The original Admiral Nimitz Museum was established in 1968 in the former Nimitz Hotel, established in 1855 by the grandfather of World War II Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (1885-1966), a Fredericksburg native.  Its distinctive Missisippi River steamboat facade (with a hurricane deck, pilothouse, and crow’s nest), added in the 1870s, is a landmark on Main Street.  I've been to this fabulous museum at least three times, but there is always something new to discover there.

Dad (above) and Eric (below) in the Pacific Combat Zone, a unique indoor/outdoor exhibit featuring restored WWII military vehicles and weaponry, situated in replicated docks, entrenchments, and beachheads, at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Left:  View of the 20mm gun deck and conning tower of the Pintado (SS-387) submarine, March 1995.   
Center & right:  Panels for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Richard Nixon in the Plaza of Presidents.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.