Nimitz was the leading U.S. Navy authority onsubmarines.Qualified in submarines during his early years, Nimitz later oversaw the conversion of these vessels' propulsion from gasoline to diesel, and then later was key in acquiring approval to build the world's firstnuclear-powered submarine,USS Nautilus, whose propulsion system later completely supersededdiesel-powered submarines in the United States. Beginning in 1917, Nimitz was the Navy's leading developer ofunderway replenishment techniques, the tool which during the Pacific war would allow the American fleet to operate away from port almost indefinitely. The chief of the Navy'sBureau of Navigation from 1939 to 1942, Nimitz served as theChief of Naval Operations from 1945 until 1947. He was the United States' last surviving officer who served in the rank of fleet admiral. TheUSS Nimitzsupercarrier, the lead ship ofher class, is named after Nimitz.
Nimitz, aGerman Texan, was born the son of Anna Josephine (née Henke) and Chester Bernhard Nimitz on February 24, 1885, inFredericksburg, Texas,[3] where his grandfather's hotel is now theNational Museum of the Pacific War. His frail,rheumatic father had died six months earlier, on August 14, 1884.[4] In 1890, Anna married William Nimitz (1864–1943), Chester B. Nimitz's brother.[5] He was significantly influenced by his German-born paternal grandfather,Charles Henry Nimitz, a former seaman in theGerman Merchant Marine, who taught Nimitz, "the sea – like life itself – is a stern taskmaster. 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".[6] His grandfather had become aTexas Ranger in the Texas Mounted Volunteers in 1851 and later served as captain of the Gillespie Rifles Company in theConfederate States Army during theCivil War.[7]
Originally, Nimitz applied toWest Point in hopes of becoming anArmy officer, but no appointments were available.James L. Slayden, US Representative forTexas's 12th congressional district, told Nimitz that he had one appointment available for theUnited States Naval Academy and that he would award it to the best-qualified candidate. Nimitz felt that this was his only opportunity for further education and spent extra time studying to earn the appointment. Nimitz was appointed to the Naval Academy by Slayden in 1901, and graduated with distinction on January 30, 1905, seventh in a class of 114.[8]
Nimitz joined thebattleshipOhio atSan Francisco, and cruised on her to the Far East. In September 1906, he was transferred to the cruiserBaltimore; on January 31, 1907, after the two years at sea as awarrant officer then required by law, Nimitz was commissioned as anensign. Remaining on Asiatic Station in 1907, he successively served on thegunboatPanay,destroyerDecatur, and cruiserDenver.
The destroyerDecaturran aground on a mud bank in the Philippines on July 7, 1908, while under the command of Ensign Nimitz. The incident was the result of a navigational error. Nimitz had failed to check the harbor's tide tables and tried Batangas' harbor when the water level was low, leavingDecatur stuck until the tide rose again the next morning, and she was pulled free by a small steamer.[2] Following the grounding, a naval board of inquiry was convened to investigate the circumstances. The board found that Nimitz had indeed made an error in judgment, and he received a letter of reprimand.[9][10]
Nimitz returned to the United States on boardUSSRanger when that vessel was converted to aschool ship, and in January 1909, began instruction in the First Submarine Flotilla. In May of that year, he was given command of the flotilla, with additional duty in command ofUSS Plunger, later renamedA-1. Nimitz was promoted directly from ensign to lieutenant in January 1910. He commandedUSS Snapper (later renamedC-5) when that submarine was commissioned on 2 February 1910, and on 18 November 1910, assumed command ofUSS Narwhal (later renamedD-1).[9]
In the latter command, Nimitz had additional duty on October 10, 1911, as Commander 3rd Submarine Division Atlantic Torpedo Fleet. In November 1911, he was ordered to theBoston Navy Yard, to assist in fitting outUSS Skipjack and assumed command of that submarine, which had been renamedE-1, at her commissioning on February 14, 1912. On themonitorTonopah (then employed as a submarine tender) on 20 March 1912, Nimitz rescued Fireman Second Class W. J. Walsh from drowning, receiving aSilver Lifesaving Medal for his action.[9]
After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Nimitz was chief engineer ofMaumee 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. Under his supervision,Maumee conducted the first-everunderway refuelings. On August 10, 1917, Nimitz became aide to Rear AdmiralSamuel S. Robison, Commander, Submarine Force, US Atlantic Fleet (ComSubLant).
On February 6, 1918, Nimitz was appointed chief of staff and was awarded aLetter of Commendation for meritorious service asCOMSUBLANT's chief of staff. On 16 September, 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.
From May 1919 to June 1920, Nimitz served as executive officer of the battleshipSouth Carolina. He then commanded the cruiserChicago with additional duty in command ofSubmarine Division 14, based atPearl Harbor, Hawaii. Nimitz, assisted by four earnestChief Petty Officers, supervised the construction ofSubmarine Base Pearl Harbor on a triangle-shaped, overgrown piece of land at the juncture of Southeast Loch and Quarry Loch, and served as the base's first commanding officer.[12] During this tour, he also conducted an investigation into theR-14 sailing incident. Nimitz's handling of the disciplinary action in the aftermath of the investigation was considered a model of even-handed fairness, cementing his reputation as a solid and capable leader.[13] Returning to the mainland in the summer of 1922, Nimitz studied at theNaval War College,Newport, Rhode Island.
Nimitz lost part of a finger in an accident with a diesel engine, saving the rest of it only when the machine briefly jammed against hisAnnapolis ring.[15]
In June 1929, Nimitz took command of Submarine Division 20. In June 1931, he assumed command of thedestroyer tenderRigel and the destroyers out of commission atSan Diego, California. In October 1933, Nimitz took command of the cruiserAugusta and deployed to theFar East, where in December,Augusta became theflagship of theAsiatic Fleet. While in command of the Augusta, his legal aide wasChesty Puller.[16]
In April 1935, Nimitz returned home for three years as assistant chief of the Bureau of Navigation, before becoming commander, Cruiser Division 2, Battle Force. In September 1938, Nimitz took command of Battleship Division 1, Battle Force. During this time, he conducted experiments in the underway refueling of large ships which would prove a key element in the Navy's success in the war to come. "Tests were planned for the spring of 1939 [June 1939] using elements of the fleet left on the West Coast while the rest of the fleet was in the Caribbean participating inFleet Problem XX. Nimitz was scheduled to remain on the West Coast aboard his flagship the Arizona. The aircraft carrier Saratoga, the heavy cruisersUSS Chester and Vincennes, and the light cruiser Trenton would also be left behind. These ships, with their escorts and at least one oiler, would constitute Task Force 7. Nimitz, as senior officer present, would be in command."[17]
On June 15, 1939, Nimitz was appointed chief of the Bureau of Navigation. From 1940 to 1941, he served as president of the Army Navy Country Club, in Arlington, Virginia.
Ten days after theattack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Rear Admiral Nimitz was selected by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt to be the commander-in-chief of theUnited States Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT). Nimitz immediately departed Washington for Hawaii and took command in a ceremony on the top deck of the submarineGrayling. He was promoted to the rank ofadmiral, effective December 31, 1941, upon assuming command. The change of command ceremony would normally have taken place aboard a battleship, but every battleship in Pearl Harbor had been either sunk or damaged during the attack. Assuming command at the most critical period of the war in the Pacific, Admiral Nimitz organized his forces to halt the Japanese advance, despite the shortage of ships, planes, and supplies.[18] Nimitz had a significant advantage in that the United States had cracked the Japanese diplomatic naval code and had made progress on thenaval code JN-25. The Japanese had kept radio silence before the attack on Pearl Harbor, although events were then moving so rapidly that they had to rely on coded radio messages they did not realize were being read in Hawaii.[19]
Nimitz, in Hawaii, and his superior AdmiralErnest 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. Instead, they proposed anisland-hopping plan that would allow them to bypass most of the Japanese strength in the Central Pacific until they reached Okinawa. President Roosevelt compromised, giving both MacArthur and Nimitz their own theaters. The two Pacific theaters were favored, to the dismay of generalsGeorge Marshall andDwight Eisenhower, who favored a Germany-first strategy. King and Nimitz provided MacArthur with some naval forces but kept most of the carriers. However, when the time came to plan an invasion of Japan, MacArthur was given overall command.[21][22]
Nimitz faced superior Japanese forces at the crucial defensive actions of theBattle of the Coral Sea and theBattle of Midway. 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 ofPort Moresby on the island of New Guinea. Two Japanese carriers were temporarily taken out of action in the battle, which would deprive the Japanese of their use in the Midway operation that shortly followed. The Navy's intelligence team reasoned that the Japanese would be attacking Midway, so Nimitz moved all his available forces to the defense. The severe losses in Japanese carriers at Midway affected the balance of naval air power during the remainder of 1942 and were crucial in neutralizing Japanese offensive threats in the South Pacific. Naval engagements during theBattle of Guadalcanal left both forces severely depleted. However, with the allied advantage in land-based air-power, the results were sufficient to secure Guadalcanal. The US and allied forces then undertook to neutralize remaining Japanese offensive threats with theSolomon Islands campaign and theNew Guinea campaign, while building capabilities for major fleet actions. In 1943, Midway became a forward submarine base, greatly enhancing US capabilities against Japanese shipping.[23]
In terms of combat, 1943 was a relatively quiet year, but it proved decisive inasmuch as Nimitz gained themateriel and manpower needed to launch major fleet offensives to destroy Japanese power in the central Pacific region. This drive opened with theGilbert and Marshall Islands campaign from November 1943 to February 1944, followed by the destruction of the strategic Japanese base atTruk Lagoon, and the Marianas campaign that brought the Japanese homeland within range of new strategic bombers. Nimitz's forces inflicted a decisive defeat on the Japanese fleet in theBattle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944), which allowed the capture ofSaipan,Guam, andTinian.[24] His Fleet Forces isolated enemy-held bastions on the central and easternCaroline Islands and secured in quick successionPeleliu,Angaur, andUlithi. In the Philippines, his ships destroyed much of the remaining Japanese naval power at theBattle of Leyte Gulf, that lasted from October 24 to 26, 1944. With the loss of the Philippines, Japan's energy supply routes from Indonesia came under direct threat, crippling their war effort.[25]
By act of Congress, passed on December 14, 1944, the rank offleet admiral – the highest rank in the Navy – was established. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Nimitz to that rank. Nimitz took the oath of that office on December 19.[26] In January 1945, Nimitz moved the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet forward from Pearl Harbor to Guam for the remainder of the war. 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 1945, Nimitz's forces launched successful amphibious assaults onIwo Jima andOkinawa and his carriers raided the home waters of Japan. In addition, Nimitz also arranged for the Army Air Force to mine the Japanese ports and waterways by air withB-29 Superfortresses in a successful mission calledOperation Starvation, which severely interrupted Japanese logistics.[27][28]
Troops marching at ceremonies honoring Nimitz
On September 2, 1945, Nimitz signed as representative of the United States whenJapan formally surrendered on boardUSS Missouri inTokyo Bay. On October 5, 1945, which had been officially designated as "Nimitz Day" inWashington, D.C., Nimitz was personally presented a secondGold Star for the third award of theNavy Distinguished Service Medal by PresidentHarry S. Truman "for exceptionally meritorious service as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, from June 1944 to August 1945".[29]
On November 26, 1945, Nimitz's nomination asChief of Naval Operations (CNO) was confirmed by the US Senate, and on December 15, he relieved Fleet AdmiralErnest J. King. Nimitz had assured the President that he was willing to serve as the CNO for one two-year term, but no longer. Nimitz tackled the difficult task of reducing the most powerful navy in the world to a fraction of its war-time strength while establishing and overseeing active and reserve fleets with the strength and readiness required to support national policy.
For the postwar trial of German Grand AdmiralKarl Dönitz at theNuremberg Trials in 1946, Nimitz furnished anaffidavit in support of the practice ofunrestricted submarine warfare, a practice that he himself had employed throughout the war in the Pacific. This evidence is widely credited as a reason why Dönitz was sentenced to only 10 years of imprisonment.[30]
Nimitzendorsed an entirely new course for the US Navy's future by way of supporting then-CaptainHyman G. Rickover's chain-of-command-circumventing proposal in 1947 to buildUSS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered vessel.[31] As is noted at a display at the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas: "Nimitz's greatest legacy as CNO is arguably his support of Admiral Hyman Rickover's effort to convert the submarine fleet from diesel to nuclear propulsion".
Secretary of Navy John L. Sullivan's farewell party for Fleet Admiral USN (CNO) and General A.A. Vandegrift, USMC (CMC), on their retirement (December 1947)
Nimitz retired from office as CNO on December 15, 1947, and received a third Gold Star in lieu of a fourth Navy Distinguished Service Medal. 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. Nimitz and his wife, Catherine, moved toBerkeley, California. After suffering a serious fall in 1964, he and Catherine moved to US Naval quarters onYerba Buena Island in theSan Francisco Bay.
In San Francisco, Nimitz served in the mostly ceremonial post as a special assistant to the Secretary of the Navy in the Western Sea Frontier. 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 battleshipMikasa, AdmiralHeihachiro Togo's flagship at theBattle of Tsushima in 1905.
From 1949 to 1953, Nimitz served as UN-appointed plebiscite administrator forJammu and Kashmir.[32] His proposed role as administrator was accepted by Pakistan but rejected by India.[33][34][35]
Nimitz became a member of theBohemian Club of San Francisco. In 1948, he sponsored a Bohemian dinner in honor of US Army GeneralMark Clark, known for his campaigns in North Africa and Italy.[36]
Nimitz served as a regent of theUniversity of California from 1948 to 1956, where he had formerly been a faculty member as a professor of naval science for theNaval Reserve Officer Training Corps program. Nimitz was honored on October 17, 1964, by the University of California on Nimitz Day.
Catherine Vance graduated from theUniversity of California, Berkeley, in 1934,[41] became a music librarian with theWashington D.C. Public Library,[42] and married US Navy Commander James Thomas Lay (1909–2001),[43] from St. Clair, Missouri, in Chester and Catherine's suite at the Fairfax Hotel in Washington, D.C., on 9 March 1945.[44] She had met Lay in the summer of 1934 while visiting her parents in Southeast Asia.[41]
Chester Nimitz Jr. graduated from theUS Naval Academy in 1936 and served as a submariner in the Navy until his retirement in 1957, reaching the (post-retirement) rank of rear admiral; he served as chairman ofPerkinElmer from 1969 to 1980.
Anna Elizabeth ("Nancy") Nimitz was an expert on theSoviet economy at theRAND Corporation from 1952 until her retirement in the 1980s.
Sister Mary Aquinas (Nimitz) joined theDominican Sisters of San Rafael, working at theDominican University of California. She taught biology for 16 years and was academic dean for 11 years, acting president for a year, and vice president for institutional research for 13 years before becoming the university's emergency preparedness coordinator. Mary held this job until her death, due to cancer, on February 27, 2006.
Nimitz never held the rank oflieutenant junior grade, as he was appointed a full lieutenant after three years of service as an ensign. For administrative reasons, Nimitz's naval record states that he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant on the same day.
Nimitz was promoted directly from captain to rear admiral. During Nimitz's service, there was only one rank ofrear admiral, without the later distinction between upper and lower half, nor did the rank of commodore exist when Nimitz was at that stage of his career.
By presidential appointment, he skipped the rank ofvice admiral and became an admiral in December 1941.
Besides the honor of a United StatesGreat Americans series 50¢ postage stamp, the following institutions and locations have been named in honor of Nimitz:
The summit onGuam where Chester Nimitz relocated his Pacific Fleet headquarters, and where the current Commander US Naval Forces Marianas (ComNavMar) resides, is calledNimitz Hill
Nimitz Road in Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, is named in his honor.
Nimitz Place part of Havemeyer Park located inOld Greenwich, Connecticut, was named in his honor along with many other World War II military personnel.
Borneman, Walter R. (2012).The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy and King – The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea. New York: Little, Brown and Company.ISBN978-0-316-09784-0.
Johnston & Hedman (2022).A Good and Favorable Wind: The Unusual Story of a Submarine Under Sail and its Cautionary Lessons for the Modern Navy. Ann Arbor: Nimble Books LLC.ISBN978-1-60888-200-7.
"Some Thoughts to Live By", Chester W. Nimitz with Andrew Hamilton,ISBN0-686-24072-3, reprinted fromBoys' Life, 1966.
Moore, Jeffrey M. (2004).Spies for Nimitz: Joint Military Intelligence in the Pacific War. Naval Institute Press.ISBN1591144884.
Stone, Christopher B. "Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz: Leadership Forged Through Adversity" (PhD dissertation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2018)Excerpt.
Symonds, Craig.Nimitz at War: Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2022.ISBN978-0190062361.
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