Sixty-Eight Years After Pearl Harbor: The Garden Of Peace

The National Museum of the Pacific War is located in the Texas Hill Country town of Fredericksburg. But not for the birthplace and boyhood home of Admiral Chester Nimitz, who led U.S. Naval Forces to victory in the Pacific during World War II, the museum’s location would seem out of place.

Today, December 7, 2009, it is exactly 68 years after that fateful day when bombs dropped on the U. S. fleet in Pearl Harbor. And, on this day, so many years after that tragic Sunday morning, former President George H.W. Bush visited Fredericksburg to reopen the George H.W. Bush Gallery at the museum, which has recently been under renovation. Bush, as a young naval aviator, flew combat missions in the Pacific during World War II, and, like my father, another young navy pilot in that theatre, flew Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers.

The museum and its grounds are divided up into different areas, with artifacts, photographs, and information detailing the Pacific Theatre of World War II. In addition to the military-oriented exhibits depicting the various stages of the war, the museum also has an outdoor plaza called the “Plaza of Presidents.” This impressive plaza has extensive information on each U.S. President who served during World War II.

Adjoining the plaza, is another area called the Memorial Courtyard, which contains a touching display of memorial wall plaques and paver bricks. These plaques and bricks are sponsored by family members, friends, and various organizations who wish to permanently recognize the specific contributions of veterans, ships, and military units.

The Japanese Garden of Peace, the most unusual part of the museum, is, arguably, one of the most important. Nimitz greatly respected Japanese Admiral, Togo Heihachiro. This Japanese Admiral, who had defeated a Russian fleet during the Russo-Japanese War, died in 1934, and his funeral was attended by the admiring Nimitz. Years later, long after World War II, Nimitz would donate money to help restore Togo’s flagship, Mikasa. This was the battleship on which Togo rose to greatness during the Russo-Japanese War, and which, at the time Nimitz pitched in to help, was in dire need of repair.

In 1976, Japan, in an honor to Admiral Nimitz and his admiration of Admiral Togo, reconstructed a Japanese garden, and a reproduction of Admiral Togo’s study, on the grounds of the museum in Fredericksburg. Amid the museum’s historical and important displays of war in the Pacific, this is a place of peace and quiet meditation.

After surviving the horrors of war, working to secure a peaceful world is one thing I’m quite sure that President George H.W. Bush, my father, Captain Kenneth Glass, USNR (Ret), and all living veterans of World War II, would agree is key to our future. Please remember them on this day, as well as the deceased veterans of that war, who sacrificed so much to secure our freedoms in the dark days following December 7, 1941, the “date which will live in infamy.”

Highland Lakes Air Museum

The Highland Lakes Air Museum is located in the hill country town of Burnet at Kate Craddock Field. The museum is managed by the Highland Lakes Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly, the Confederate Air Force. Most particularly focused on the World War II era, the museum also displays artifacts from other military conflicts since that time. The museum is proud of the fact that it focuses on the contributions of the average combatant, leaving to others who want to tell the tale of the military’s “sure enough big shots.”

Because it is run by volunteers, the museum hours are mercurial, so it is probably best to make sure the museum is actually open before making the trip. But, even if you find it closed, there is an impressive display outside in the Viet Nam Memorial Garden. The garden displays aircraft of the Viet Nam era, along with an M60 battle tank, a couple of M114 howitzers, and a Nike missile.

The most exciting part of the museum is that the local members of the CAF maintain working World War II era aircraft which they offer for public flights. For those willing to pay the very reasonable fee, they can enjoy an adventure in the sky in a Douglas C-47, the open cockpit Fairchild PT-19, or, a North American AT-6/SNJ Texan. The CAF also holds the annual Bluebonnet Air Show every April right there on, and over, Kate Craddock Field.

One of these days soon, I’m going to take a ride in one of the squadron’s aircraft, and experience what my Dad did, when he was just a young man during World War II, training as a naval aviator over the skies of Texas before he shipped out to combat in the Pacific Theatre. That day will be a reliving of history which is both personal and full of meaning to me.

Admiral From The Hill Country

The German American influence in the Texas Hill Country is pervasive. Unique customs, food, and music, having their roots in the 19th century German settlements, are still readily apparent today. But the German heritage also produced great men and women.

One man of German descent, who was to play a major role in World War II, was born and raised in the hill country town of Fredericksburg. Despite being reared well away from any ocean in the hills of South Central Texas, he would go on to lead a great naval armada to victory, and become this country’s first five-star, fleet admiral.

Chester Nimitz was born fatherless in 1885. His father had passed away prior to his birth. Given that fact, an important influence in his life was his grandfather, a former merchant seaman. Despite his attachment to the seafaring grandfather, the young Nimitz actually sought an appointment to West Point. Such was not to be the case; however, he was successful in getting an appointment to the United States Naval Academy, where he graduated in the top ten-percent of his class.

Sent to the waters off the Philippines, he was given command of a destroyer at the age of twenty-two. Perhaps his young age and naval inexperience caused the ship to run aground resulting in his court-martial. He recovered from this early career set back, and never looked back. The “rest is history” as they say, and he went on to serve on submarines and later, to lead the U.S. Navy to many great victories during the War in the Pacific, culminating with him being on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri, signing the document for the United States which ended the war.

Follwing the war, if he ever spent much time in the area which shaped his early life, the Texas Hill Country, I cannot say. After his many accomplishments during the tumultuous and dangerous times of the early to mid-1940’s, he lived on the West Coast of the United States.

He died in 1966 and is buried in California. His final resting place is near the Pacific Ocean, a body of water where he helped save the world from tyranny. But, the place where his character was molded, so important for this country later during troubled times, was the hill country town of Fredericksburg, Texas.