Naval Station Pearl Harbor in Honolulu in Honolulu County, Hawaii — Hawaiian Island Archipelago (Pacific Ocean)
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN
Born to Frederickburg, Texas in 1885, Chester W. Nimitz was accepted into the United States naval Academy at age 15, graduating seventh in his class in 1905.
Nimitz was assigned to the Asiatic Fleet, serving aboard the battleship USS Ohio (BB12), visiting Japan for the first time. He later commanded the captured Spanish gunboat Panay and the USS Decatur (DD 5).
Nimitz was next assigned to the submarine service, where he remained for much of the next 20 years.
With the dedication and foresight that would characterize his entire naval career, Nimitz became an expert in submarine tactics and technology, was an early advocate of diesel engines, and directed construction of the submarine base at Pearl Harbor.
Attending the Naval War College in the 1920's, Nimitz studied potential Pacific war scenarios, lessons he put to use in the years to come. By December 7, 1941, Nimitz had risen to flag rank and was Chief of the Bureau of Navigation.
Within weeks of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Nimitz was appointed Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and soon afterward, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas.
He was the right man for the job, restoring morale, building an able and aggressive team and brilliantly commanding naval force during the critical Battle of Midway and throughout the remainder of the war.
By 1944, in recognition of his superior leadership during the advancing Pacific campaign, Nimitz was promoted to the newly created rank of Fleet Admiral. Then, on September 2, 1945, following the capitulation of Japanese forces, Nimitz was designated by President Truman as signatory for the United States during the formal Japanese surrender abroad the USS Missouri (BB 63) in Tokyo Bay.
After War's end, Nimitz was appointed Chief of Naval Operations, directing deployment of naval forces during the initial years of the Cold War. He also did much to restore goodwill with Japan including restoration of the historic battleship Mikasa, the flagship of Marshal-Admiral Togo Heihachiro during the Russo-Japanese War.
Chester W. Nimitz died peacefully at his home in San Francisco on February 20, 1966 and is buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, California.
Second Panel: "Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won. The skies no longer rain death-the seas bear only commerce, men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace." I speak for the thousands of silent lips, forever stilled among the jungles and the beaches and in the deep waters of the Pacific which marked the way. I speak for the unnamed brave millions homeward bound to take up the challenge of that future which they did so much to salvage from the brink of disaster.
As I look back on the long, tortuous trail from those grim days of Bataan and Corregidor, when an entire world lived in fear....we have learned there can be no turning back. We must go forward to preserve in peace what we won in war....
Your sons and daughters have served you well and faithfully with the calm, deliberated determined fighting spirit of the American soldier...They are homeward bound-take care of them." General of the Army Douglas MacArthur "Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers Excerpt from radio broadcast given after conclusion of the Surrender Ceremony aboard USS Missouri (BB 63) in Tokoyo Bay, September 2, 1945.
Erected by Naval Order of the US, American's Oldest Naval Historical Society, Founded on July 4, 1890.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #33 Harry S. Truman series list. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1807.
Location. 21° 21.755′ N, 157° 57.23′ W. Marker is in Honolulu, Hawaii, in Honolulu County. It is in the Naval Station Pearl Harbor. Marker is on Cowpens Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Cowpens Street, Honolulu HI 96818, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Golden Anchor (within shouting distance of this marker); U. S. S. Missouri (within shouting distance of this marker); USS West Virginia Memorial (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); USS Arizona Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); U.S. Naval Base Pearl Harbor (approx. 0.3 miles away); U.S.S. Arizona (approx. 0.3 miles away); U.S.S. Arizona Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); This Sacred Site (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Honolulu.
Regarding Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN. Far Left photo caption: Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN, signs the instrument of Surrender as United States Representative, on board USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.
Standing directly behind him (left to right): General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Admiral William F. Halsey, and his Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Forrest Sherman.
Far Right photo above left: Admiral Nimitz confer with General Douglas MacArthur, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Admiral William D. Lehy concerning future moves in the war with Japan during the President's visit to Hawaii, July 26 - August 10, 1944.
Above right photo: Admiral Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet, and Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, Photographed circa 1942.
Second Panel Far Left: In Tokyo Bay at 0904 September 2, 1945, Japan's Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the instrument of Surrender by command and in behalf of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese Government twenty minutes later, World War II is over.
Far right photo caption: 1912, U.S. Army Air-corps Master Sergeant, M.J. Weidenbach, readies for bombing mission against Axis targets with the 329th Bomb Squadron operating out of North Africa and England.
Second photo caption: 1943, U.S. Navy Aviation Ordnanceman, Kenneith Bratton, is lifted out of the gun turret of his TBF Avenger aboard the carrier USS Saratoga after a raid on Rabaul, Papua-New Guinea.
Third photo caption: 1944, Unnamed battle hardened U.S. Marine after two days and nights of heavy fighting on the beach at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands.
Fourth photo caption: 1946, U.S. Army Sergeant Howard Kiyama, member of the 442nd "Go For Broke" Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated small unit in American military history, is welcomed home in Honolulu by his father.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 21, 2014, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. This page has been viewed 982 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on April 21, 2014, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. 8, 9. submitted on October 23, 2017, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.