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40-671: Charles Henry Nimitz , German merchant sailor and grandfather of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz , was born in Bremen in Germany . He emigrated to the United States by way of South Carolina in 1844. In 1846, Nimitz moved to Fredericksburg with the initial settlers. In 1848, he married Sophie Dorothea Mueller, and nine of the couple's twelve children lived to adulthood. Local trouble maker James P. Waldrip tried unsuccessfully to recruit Nimitz into Die Haengebande ( vigilanty group). Charles Nimitz built

80-619: A Quonset Hut, a PT boat and base, Japanese tank, palm trees, and machine gun placements. Re-enactments, called Living History exhibits, are held throughout the year. The Veterans' Walk of Honor and Memorial Wall can be found within the Memorial Courtyard. Also located at the Pacific Combat Zone, the Quonset Hut now serves as the base for the museum's STEAM Lab. https://www.pacificwarmuseum.org/discover/field-trips/ On May 8, 1976,

120-541: A father figure and role model the first five years of little Chester's life. In 1890, the widow Nimitz married her husband's brother William Nimitz and moved with him to Kerrville where he managed the St. Charles Hotel. While still a teenager, Chester was accepted for enrollment in the United States Naval Academy , where he graduated seventh out of a class of 114. Chester Nimitz rose to the rank of Commander-in-Chief of

160-585: A formal White House ceremony the following day. Following a ceremony led by Gen. Jonathan Wainwright , the documents were then exhibited at the National Archives . On October 1, 1945, the documents were formally received (accessioned) into the holdings of the National Archives. The deck of the Missouri was furnished with two U.S. flags . A commonly heard story is that one of the flags had flown over

200-453: A teenager, Chester was accepted for enrollment in the United States Naval Academy , where he graduated seventh out of a class of 114. Chester Nimitz rose to the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Forces in World War II . Fleet Admiral Nimitz died February 20, 1966. The Nimitz Hotel was designated an historical marker in 1989, marker number 10089. The Admiral Nimitz Foundation

240-714: A war memorial to the Japanese admiral. The outdoor Plaza of the Presidents was dedicated on September 2, 1995, the 50th anniversary of Fleet Admiral Nimitz' acceptance of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS ; Missouri  (BB-63) . The plaza is a tribute to the ten United States Presidents who served during World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt (Commander in Chief), Harry S. Truman (Commander in Chief), General of

280-777: Is at the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in Tokyo, and was last publicly displayed in 2015, as part of an exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of the signing. A replica version of the Japanese copy can be viewed at the archive's gallery, and at the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Tokyo . Gen. MacArthur originally had 11 full-sized facsimiles made of the Instrument of Surrender, but later increased this for distribution among

320-573: Is buried at Der Stadt Friedhof in Fredericksburg. He died on April 28, 1911, in the hotel he built. He is buried next to Sophia. Japanese Instrument of Surrender The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that formalized the surrender of the Empire of Japan , marking the end of hostilities in World War II . It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan and from

360-414: Is displayed backward —  reverse side showing (stars in the upper right corner). This was because U.S. flags on the right of an object, plane, ship, or person have the stars on the upper right corner, to look like the flag is heading into battle —  as if attached to a pole and someone is carrying it. Stars in the upper left of a flag displayed on the right side of the object could make

400-483: Is sometimes known as Victory over Japan Day . However, that designation more frequently refers to the date of Emperor Hirohito 's Gyokuon-hōsō (Imperial Rescript of Surrender), the radio broadcast announcement of the acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam Declaration at noon Japan Standard Time on 15 August. General Douglas MacArthur 's staff, headed by Colonel LeGrande A. Diller , were tasked to prepare

440-700: Is still on display at the Naval Academy Museum, as is the table and tablecloth upon which the instrument of surrender was signed, and the original bronze plaque marking the location of the signing (which was replaced by two replicas in 1990). The Japanese copy of the treaty varied from the Allied in the following ways: The Allied copy of the Instrument is at the United States National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. The Japanese copy

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480-511: The Adelsverein colonists who settled in Fredericksburg with John O. Meusebach . In Fredericksburg, Karl Jr. changed his name to Charles Henry Nimitz. On December 15, 1847, Nimitz became one of the petitioners for creation of Gillespie County. He briefly worked as a bookkeeper for a cypress lumber company, and in 1851 joined the Texas Rangers . In 1852, Nimitz built what locals referred to as

520-1051: The Allied nations : the United States of America , the Republic of China , the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , the Commonwealth of Australia , the Dominion of Canada , the Provisional Government of the French Republic , the Kingdom of the Netherlands , and the Dominion of New Zealand . The signing took place on the deck of USS  Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. The date

560-803: The White House on the day Pearl Harbor was attacked . However, Captain Stuart Murray of USS Missouri explained: At eight o'clock we had hoisted a clean set of colors at the mainmast and a clean jack of the United States at the bow as we were at anchor, and I would like to add that these were just regular ship's flags, GI issue, that we'd pulled out of the spares, nothing special about them, and they had never been used anywhere so far as we know, at least they were clean and we had probably gotten them in Guam in May. So there

600-402: The "von" from the family name. Karl Heinrich Nimitz Sr. left the mercantile business and became a merchant seaman. Karl Jr. followed in his footsteps at age 14. The family originally emigrated to Charleston, South Carolina , beginning with the three oldest children in 1840, Karl Sr. and Dorothea in 1843, and Karl Jr. in 1844. Karl Jr. became fascinated by stories about Texas, and in 1846 joined

640-666: The 130th anniversary of the founding of Fredericksburg, the Japanese government gifted the museum with the Japanese Garden of Peace . The garden was designed by Taketora Saita as a replica of the private garden of Gensui The Marquis Tōgō (1848–1934), the main Imperial Japanese Navy commander in the Russo-Japanese War . Fleet Admiral Nimitz personally admired the Marquis Tōgō, having previously helped to establish

680-602: The Allied nations present during the signing. Two of the copies which were given to Col. LeGrande A. Diller and MGen. Basilio Valdes for the Philippines are now displayed at The International Museum of World War II in Natick, Massachusetts . As witnesses, American general Jonathan Wainwright , who had surrendered the Philippines , and British lieutenant-general Arthur Percival , who had surrendered Singapore , received two of

720-473: The Army Dwight D. Eisenhower (Army), John F. Kennedy (Navy), Lyndon B. Johnson (Navy), Richard Nixon (Navy), Gerald Ford (Navy), Jimmy Carter (Navy), Ronald Reagan (Army) and George H. W. Bush (Navy). George H. W. Bush cut the ribbon in 1991 for the $ 3 million gallery bearing his name. The George H.W. Bush Gallery is home to an I.J.N. Ko-hyoteki class midget submarine (which participated in

760-640: The Gillespie Rifles and was commissioned captain of that group by the Confederacy. In 1890, Nimitz represented District 89, Gillespie , Comal and Blanco counties, in the Twenty-second Texas Legislature. Anna Henke Nimitz, the wife of his son Chester Bernard Nimitz became pregnant with their only child Chester William Nimitz . The senior Chester died before his son was born on February 24, 1885. Grandfather Charles Henry Nimitz served as

800-669: The Nimitz Hotel in 1852, and deeded it over to his son Charles H. Nimitz, Jr., in 1906. Locals referred to it as the Steamboat Hotel because of the ship's bow front. The hotel had its own saloon and brewery, a ballroom that doubled as a theatre, a smokehouse, and a bath-house. In its heyday, the hotel hosted such guests as Horace Greeley , Johnny Ringo , President Rutherford B. Hayes , General Robert E. Lee , General James Longstreet , General Phil Sheridan , William Sydney Porter and General Ulysses S. Grant . Anna Henke Nimitz,

840-399: The Steamboat Hotel because of the ship's bow front. The adobe Nimitz Hotel had its own saloon and brewery, a ballroom that doubled as a theatre, a smokehouse, and a bath-house. In its heyday, the hotel hosted such guests as Horace Greeley , Johnny Ringo , President Rutherford B. Hayes , James Longstreet , Phil Sheridan , William Sydney Porter and Ulysses S. Grant . Robert E. Lee , who

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880-688: The U.S. Pacific Forces in World War II . After John O. Meusebach retired to Loyal Valley, Texas , Charles Henry Nimitz made the half-day's ride to the Mason County community to spend the day with Meusebach at his residence. They reminisced about their years of friendship, and Meusebach gave Nimitz a tour of his orchards and gardens. Nimitz later gave an interview about the visit to the Fredericksburg newspaper Das Wochenblatt , detailing Meusebach's horticultural achievements. In 1848, Nimitz married Sophie Dorothea Mueller. The couple had twelve children, nine of whom lived to adulthood. Sophia died in 1877 and

920-511: The attack on Pearl Harbor ), a Japanese Kawanishi N1K "Rex" floatplane, and an American North American B-25 Mitchell . In 1991, the land for the Bush Gallery was bought from H-E-B Grocery . Money for the gallery was privately raised in the 1990s through the efforts of finance chairman Lee Bass and a board that included baseball star Nolan Ryan and Ernest Angelo, a former mayor of Midland . Admission tickets cover both museums. In addition,

960-462: The ceremony as subordinates to its own. MacArthur supported the government of Australia's demand to attend and sign separately from the UK, although Australia objected to his recommendation that Canada, the Netherlands, and France also sign the document. On 6 September, Colonel Bernard Theilen took the document and an imperial rescript to Washington, D.C. , and presented them to President Harry S. Truman in

1000-418: The door of my cabin, facing forward, on the surrender deck so that everyone on the surrender deck could see it. That special flag on the veranda deck of the Missouri had been flown from Commodore Matthew Perry 's flagship in 1853–54 when he led the U.S. Navy's Far East Squadron into Tokyo Bay to force the opening of Japan's ports to foreign trade. Photographs of the signing ceremony show that this flag

1040-497: The draft of the Instrument of Surrender. This was a challenge given resources were limited in war-torn Manila . Nevertheless, an enterprising staff member found rare parchment in a basement of a monastery, and this was given to MacArthur's printer. The ceremony aboard the deck of Missouri lasted 23 minutes and was broadcast throughout the world. It occurred at 35°21′N 139°46′E  /  35.35°N 139.76°E  / 35.35; 139.76 in Tokyo Bay . The instrument

1080-634: The early 1840s, and later became part of the Adelsverein colonization experiment in the newly annexed state of Texas . He was the grandfather of, and role model for, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz . In 1852, he built the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg, Texas , in the United States . The hotel he built now houses the National Museum of the Pacific War . The Nimitz Hotel was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1989, Marker number 10089. Nimitz

1120-645: The flag look like it were going away from battle. The cloth of the historic flag was so fragile that the conservator at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum directed that a protective backing be sewn on it, leaving its "wrong side" visible; and this was how Perry's 31-star flag was presented on this unique occasion. A replica of this historic flag can be seen today on the Surrender Deck of the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor. The original flag

1160-760: The following: At 9:08 a.m., American General of the Army Douglas MacArthur , the Commander in the Southwest Pacific and Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers , accepted the surrender on behalf of the Allied Powers and signed in his capacity as Supreme Commander. After MacArthur, the following representatives signed the instrument of surrender on behalf of each of the Allied Powers: The UK invited Dominion governments to send representatives to

1200-653: The museum is currently home to the PT boat PT-309 . Bush later reflected that "terrifying experiences" of war helped him to become a man: "I have often wondered why me, why was I spared when others died." On December 7, 2009, the museum hosted the Grand Reopening of the newly expanded George H. W. Bush Gallery where the second floor houses the Nimitz Education and Research Center. Former President George H. W. Bush his wife Barbara , along with Texas Governor Rick Perry , cut

1240-516: The ribbon. The ceremony was attended by survivors of the Attack on Pearl Harbor , and drew a crowd of 5,000 people. Charles Henry Nimitz Charles Henry Nimitz (born Karl Heinrich Nimitz ; (November 9, 1826 – April 28, 1911) was born in Bremen , Germany , the son of a merchant seaman. Like his father before him, he was already a veteran seaman before the Nimitz family immigrated to South Carolina in

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1280-473: The six pens used by General MacArthur to sign the instrument. Another pen went to the West Point military academy, and one to MacArthur's aide. All of the pens used by MacArthur were black, except the last, which was bright red and went to his wife. A replica of it, along with copies of the instrument of surrender, is in a case on Missouri by the plaque marking the signing spot. The National History Museum of

1320-431: The wife of his son Chester Bernard Nimitz became pregnant with their only child Chester William Nimitz. The senior Chester died before his son was born on February 24, 1885. Little Chester's grandfather Charles served as a father figure the first five years of his life. In 1890, the widow Nimitz married her husband's brother William Nimitz and moved with him to Kerrville where he managed the St. Charles Hotel. While still

1360-709: Was elected to the Twenty-second Texas Legislature in 1890, representing Gillespie , Comal and Blanco counties, which constituted District 89. Karl Heinrich Nimitz Jr. was born in Bremen in Germany on November 9, 1826, to merchant seaman Karl Heinrich Nimitz Sr. and his wife Dorothea Magdalena Dressel. The Nimitz roots can be traced to membership in Knights of the Sword in the 13th century. In 1644, Major Ernst von Nimitz served under Carl Gustav Wrangel of Sweden . Major Nimitz relocated in 1648 to an area near Hanover , Germany. Later generations became cloth merchants and dropped

1400-575: Was established in 1964 (as the Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Naval Museum, Inc.) to support a museum honoring Fredericksburg's native son, Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces, Pacific Ocean Area. 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. The original intent

1440-657: Was first signed by the Japanese foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu "By Command and on behalf of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese Government" (9:04 a.m.). General Yoshijirō Umezu , Chief of the Army General Staff, then signed the document "By Command and on behalf of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters" (9:06 a.m.). The Japanese representatives present for the signing were

1480-535: Was just a plain ordinary GI-issue flag and a Union Jack. We turned them both into the Naval Academy Museum when we got back to the East Coast in October. The only special flag that was there was a flag which Commodore Perry had flown on his ship out in that same location 82 [ recte 92] years before. It was flown out in its glass case from the Naval Academy Museum. An officer messenger brought it out. We put this hanging over

1520-518: Was nothing special about them. Some of the articles in the history say this was the same flag that was flown on the White House or the National Capitol on 7 December 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and at Casablanca, and so forth, also MacArthur took it up to Tokyo and flew it over his headquarters there. The only thing I can say is they were hard up for baloney, because it was nothing like that. It

1560-531: Was stationed at nearby Fort Mason prior to the Civil War , visited so often that Nimitz gave Lee his own room and exhibited it to guests when Lee was not in residence. After the war, the hotel became a stage stop. Nimitz would entertain the guests with practical jokes on the customers, and humorous stories. Nimitz deeded the hotel over to his son Charles H Nimitz Jr. in 1906. During the Civil War, Nimitz organized

1600-494: Was to focus only as a memorial to Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. In 2000, the complex was renamed Admiral Nimitz State Historic Site – National Museum of the Pacific War and is dedicated exclusively to the Pacific Theater battles of World War II. The conning tower and foc'sle of USS  Pintado  (SS-387) is at the main museum entrance. The Pacific Combat Zone is a re-creation of a Pacific island battlefield, and includes

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