Morale

Morale. Admiral Chester Nimitz. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Nimitz took command of the Pacific Fleet aboard the submarine USS Grayling then met with his staff. Morale was low and the staff expected to be blamed for the disaster and then relieved. , Nimitz stunned them all by saying he had complete and unlimited confidence in every one of them and that he did not blame them for what had happened at Pearl Harbor. He wanted them all to remain. One of those present said it was like opening a window in a stuffy room. , Respect for the Enemy , Upon notification that the Japanese had accepted the surrender terms, Nimitz sent out a message to the forces under his command. , "With the termination of hostilities against Japan, it is incumbent on all officers to conduct themselves with dignity and decorum in their treatment of the Japanese and their public utterances in connection with the Japanese. ... the use of insulting epithets in connection with the Japanese as a race or as individuals does not now become the officers of the United States Navy.", During the initial phase of the occupation of Japan, Nimitz visited the shrine of Admiral Togo and his former flagship, the battleship Mikasa. , Nimitz ordered guards placed at the Mikasa to prevent any looting of this historic ship. He also led the later effort to restore the ship, a symbol of Japanese naval heritage. , For more on Nimitz's regard for Admiral Togo and his postwar work on reconciliation visit the Japanese Garden of Peace.