DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
901 M STREET SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz
Chester William Nimitz was born on 24 February 1885, near a quaint
hotel in Fredericksburg, Texas built by his grandfather, Charles Nimitz,
a retired sea captain. Young Chester, however, had his sights set on an
Army career and while a student at Tivy High School, Kerrville, Texas, he
tried for an appointment to West Point. When none was available, he took
a competitive examination for Annapolis and was selected and appointed from
the Twelfth Congressional District of Texas in 1901.
He left high school to enter the Naval Academy Class of 1905. It was
many years later, after he had become a Fleet Admiral that he actually was
awarded his high school diploma. At the Academy Nimitz was an excellent
student, especially in mathematics and graduated with distinction -- seventh
in a class of 114. He was an athlete and stroked the crew in his first class
year. The Naval Academy's yearbook, "Lucky Bag", described him
as a man "of cheerful yesterdays and confident tomorrows."
After graduation he joined USS Ohio in San Francisco and cruised
in her to the Far East. On 31 January 1907, after the two years' sea duty
then required by law, he was commissioned Ensign, and took command of the
gunboat USS Panay. He then commanded USS Decatur and was court
martialed for grounding her, an obstacle in his career which he overcame.
He returned to the U. S. in 1907 and was ordered to duty under instruction
in submarines, the branch of the service in which he spent a large part
of his sea duty. His first submarine was USS Plunger (A- 1). He successively
commanded USS Snapper, USS Narwal and USS Skipjack
until 1912. On 20 March of that year, Nimitz, then a Lieutenant, and commanding
officer of the submarine E-1 (formerly Skipjack), was awarded
the Silver Lifesaving Medal by the Treasury Department for his heroic action
in saving W.J. Walsh, Fireman second class, USN, from drowning. A strong
tide was running and Walsh, who could not swim, was rapidly being swept
away from his ship. Lieutenant Nimitz dove in the water and kept Walsh afloat
until both were picked up by a small boat.
He had one year in command of the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla before
coming ashore in 1913 for duty in connection with building the diesel engines
for the tanker USS Maumee at Groton, Conn. In that same year, he
was sent to Germany and Belgium to study engines at their Diesel Plants.
With that experience he subsequently served as Executive Officer and Engineering
Officer of the Maumee until 1917 when he was assigned as Aide and Chief
of Staff to COMSUBLANT. He served in that billet during World War I.
In September 1918 he came ashore to duty in the office of the Chief
of Naval Operations and was a member of the Board of Submarine Design. His
first sea duty in big ships came in 1919 when he had one year's duty as
Executive Officer of the battleship USS South Carolina. After that
he continued his duty in submarines in Pearl Harbor as Commanding Officer
USS Chicago and COMSUBDIV Fourteen.
In 1922 he was assigned as a student at the Naval War College, and upon
graduation went as Chief of Staff to Commander Battle Forces and later Commander
in Chief, U.S. Fleet (Admiral S. S. Robinson) .
In the meantime, the ROTC program had been initiated and in 1926 he
became the first Professor of Naval Science and Tactics for the Unit at
the University of California at Berkley. Throughout the remainder of his
life he retained a close association with the University. After three years
in that assignment, in 1929, he again had sea duty in the submarine service
as Commander Submarine Division Twenty for two years and then went ashore
to command USS Rigel and decommissioned destroyers at the base in
San Diego. In 1933 he was assigned to his first large ship command, the
heavy cruiser USS Augusta which served mostly as flagship of the
Asiatic Fleet. Coming ashore in 1935 he served three years as Assistant
Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. His next sea command was in flag rank
as Commander Cruiser Division Two and then as Commander Battle Division
One until 1939, when he was appointed as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation
for four years. In December 1941, however, he was designated as Commander
in Chief, Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, where he served throughout
the war. On 19 December 1944, he was advanced to the newly created rank
of Fleet Admiral, and on 2 September 1945, was the United States signatory
to the surrender terms aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo
Bay.
He hauled down his flag at Pearl Harbor on 26 Nov. 1945, and on 15 December
relieved Fleet Admiral E.J. King as Chief of Naval Operations for a term
of two years. On 01 January 1948, he reported as special Assistant to the
Secretary of the Navy in the Western Sea Frontier. In March of 1949, he
was nominated as Plebiscite Administrator for Kashmir under the United Nations.
When that did not materialize he asked to be relieved and accepted an assignment
as a roving goodwill ambassador of the United nations, to explain to the
public the major issues confronting the U.N. In 1951, President Truman appointed
him as Chairman of the nine-man commission on International Security and
Industrial Rights. This commission never got underway because Congress never
passed appropriate legislation.
Thereafter, he took an active interest in San Francisco community affairs,
in addition to his continued active participation in affairs of concern
to the Navy and the country. he was an honorary vice president and later
honorary president of the Naval Historical Foundation. He served for eight
years as a regent of the University of California and did much to restore
goodwill with Japan by raising funds to restore the battleship Mikasa,
Admiral Togo's flagship at Tsushima in 1905.
He died on 20 February 1966.
PROMOTIONS
Graduated from the Naval Academy - Class of 1905
Ensign - 07 Jan. 1907
Lieutenant (junior grade) - 31 Jan. 1910
Lieutenant - 31 Jan. 1910
Lieutenant Commander - 29 Aug. 1916
Commander - 8 march 1918
Captain - 02 June 1927
Rear Admiral - 23 June 1938
Vice Admiral - Not held - promoted directly to Admiral
Admiral - 31 Dec. 1941
Fleet Admiral - 19 Dec. 1944
DECORATIONS and AWARDS
Distinguished Service Medal with two gold stars
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Lifesaving Medal
Victory Medal with Escort Clasp
American Defense Service Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal
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1 June 1996