_{From humble beginnings in Fredericksburg, Texas, Chester Nimitz rose in the Navy to command thousands of ships and planes and millions of men in the Pacific during World War II. When it ended, universities awarded him honorary degrees, communities named public schools after him, cities across the US named streets and highways in his honour and in 1972, the Navy launched the USS Nimitz the first in the Nimitz-class of nuclear powered aircraft carriers.}

_{His legacy really began to take shape some ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbour when President Roosevelt selected Nimitz to be commander-in-chief of the United States Pacific Fleet.}

_{Assuming command at the most critical period of the war in the Pacific, Nimitz organized his forces to halt the Japanese advance, despite a shortage of ships, planes and supplies. However, he did have a significant advantage in that the US had cracked the Japanese diplomatic naval code and knew that an attack on Midway was being planned.}

_{Nimitz faced superior Japanese forces at the Battle of Midway but his strategy of a surprise attack and Japan’s over confidence that the US Naval fleet was finished, worked magnificently and resulted in four Japanese aircraft carriers being lost in the battle. This changed the balance of naval air power during the remainder of 1942 and effectively changed the course of history.}

_{Admiral Nimitz and Mike outside the National Museum of the Pacific War here in Fredericksburg. Admiral Nimitz appeared somewhat youthful, although his once incredibly blond hair had turned so white that some, behind his back, nicknamed him “Cottontail.”}