Chester W. Nimitz
Chester W. Nimitz | |
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San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
Buried | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1905–1966[1] |
Rank | Fleet Admiral |
Service number | 5572 |
Commands |
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Battles / wars | |
Awards |
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Regent of the University of California | |
Signature | ![]() |
Chester William Nimitz (/ˈnɪmɪts/; 24 February 1885 – 20 February 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, commanding Allied air, land, and sea forces during World War II.[2]
Nimitz was the leading US Navy authority on
Early life and education

Nimitz, a
Originally, Nimitz applied to
Military career
Early career

Nimitz joined the battleship Ohio at San Francisco, and cruised on her to the Far East. In September 1906, he was transferred to the cruiser Baltimore; on 31 January 1907, after the two years at sea as a warrant officer then required by law, he was commissioned as an ensign. Remaining on Asiatic Station in 1907, he successively served on the gunboat Panay, destroyer Decatur, and cruiser Denver.
The destroyer Decatur ran aground on a mud bank in the Philippines on 7 July 1908, while under the command of Ensign Nimitz. The incident was the result of a navigational error. Nimitz had failed to check the harbor's tide tables and tried Batangas' harbor when the water level was low, leaving Decatur stuck until the tide rose again the next morning, and she was pulled free by a small steamer.[2] Following the grounding, a naval board of inquiry was convened to investigate the circumstances. The board found that Nimitz had indeed made an error in judgment, but they did not recommend any punitive measures against him. Instead, he received a letter of reprimand.[10][11]
Nimitz returned to the United States on board
In the latter command, he had additional duty from 10 October 1911, as Commander 3rd Submarine Division Atlantic Torpedo Fleet. In November 1911, he was ordered to the
After commanding the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla from May 1912 to March 1913, he supervised the building of diesel engines for the fleet oil tanker Maumee, under construction at the New London Ship and Engine Company, Groton, Connecticut.[12]
World War I
In the summer of 1913, Nimitz (who spoke fluent German) studied engines at the
After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Nimitz was chief engineer of Maumee while the vessel served as a refueling ship for the first squadron of US Navy destroyers to cross the Atlantic, to take part in the war. Under his supervision, Maumee conducted the first-ever
On 6 February 1918, Nimitz was appointed chief of staff and was awarded a
Interwar Period
From May 1919 to June 1920, Nimitz served as executive officer of the battleship
Nimitz lost part of a finger in an accident with a diesel engine, saving the rest of it only when the machine briefly jammed against his Annapolis ring.[15]
In June 1929, he took command of Submarine Division 20. In June 1931, he assumed command of the
In April 1935, Nimitz returned home for three years as assistant chief of the Bureau of Navigation, before becoming commander, Cruiser Division 2, Battle Force. In September 1938 he took command of Battleship Division 1, Battle Force. During this time, Nimitz conducted experiments in the underway refueling of large ships which would prove a key element in the Navy's success in the war to come. "Tests were planned for the spring of 1939 [June 1939] using elements of the fleet left on the West Coast while the rest of the fleet was in the Caribbean participating in
On 15 June 1939, he was appointed chief of the Bureau of Navigation.
From 1940 to 1941, Nimitz served as president of the Army Navy Country Club, in Arlington, Virginia.
World War II



Ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Rear Admiral Nimitz was selected by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to be the commander-in-chief of the United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT). Nimitz immediately departed Washington for Hawaii and took command in a ceremony on the top deck of the submarine Grayling. He was promoted to the rank of admiral, effective 31 December 1941, upon assuming command. The change of command ceremony would normally have taken place aboard a battleship; however, every battleship in Pearl Harbor had been either sunk or damaged during the attack. Assuming command at the most critical period of the war in the Pacific, Admiral Nimitz organized his forces to halt the Japanese advance, despite the shortage of ships, planes, and supplies.[18] He had a significant advantage in that the United States had cracked the Japanese diplomatic naval code and had made progress on the naval code JN-25. The Japanese had kept radio silence before the attack on Pearl Harbor, although events were then moving so rapidly they had to rely on coded radio messages they did not realize were being read in Hawaii.[19]
On 24 March 1942, the newly formed US-British
Nimitz, in Hawaii, and his superior Admiral
Nimitz faced superior Japanese forces at the crucial defensive actions of the
In terms of combat, 1943 was a relatively quiet year, but it proved decisive inasmuch as Nimitz gained the

By act of Congress, passed on 14 December 1944, the rank of

On 2 September 1945, Nimitz signed as representative of the United States when Japan formally surrendered on board USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. On 5 October 1945, which had been officially designated as "Nimitz Day" in Washington, D.C., Nimitz was personally presented a second Gold Star for the third award of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal by President Harry S. Truman "for exceptionally meritorious service as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, from June 1944 to August 1945".[29]
Post war
On 26 November 1945, Nimitz's nomination as Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) was confirmed by the US Senate, and on December 15, 1945, he relieved Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King. He had assured the President that he was willing to serve as the CNO for one two-year term, but no longer. He tackled the difficult task of reducing the most powerful navy in the world to a fraction of its war-time strength while establishing and overseeing active and reserve fleets with the strength and readiness required to support national policy.
For the postwar trial of German Grand Admiral
Nimitz endorsed an entirely new course for the US Navy's future by way of supporting then-Captain Hyman G. Rickover's chain-of-command-circumventing proposal in 1947 to build USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered vessel.[31] As is noted at a display at the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas: "Nimitz's greatest legacy as CNO is arguably his support of Admiral Hyman Rickover's effort to convert the submarine fleet from diesel to nuclear propulsion".
Inactive duty as a fleet admiral
Nimitz retired from office as CNO on 15 December 1947, and received a third Gold Star in lieu of a fourth Navy Distinguished Service Medal. However, since the rank of fleet admiral is a lifetime appointment, he remained on active duty for the rest of his life, with full pay and benefits. He and his wife, Catherine, moved to Berkeley, California. After he suffered a serious fall in 1964, he and Catherine moved to US Naval quarters on Yerba Buena Island in the San Francisco Bay.
In San Francisco, Nimitz served in the mostly ceremonial post as a special assistant to the Secretary of the Navy in the Western Sea Frontier. He worked to help restore goodwill with Japan after World War II by helping to raise funds for the restoration of the Japanese Imperial Navy battleship
From 1949 to 1953, Nimitz served as UN-appointed plebiscite administrator for
Nimitz became a member of the
Nimitz served as a regent of the
Personal life
Nimitz married Catherine Vance Freeman (22 March 1892 – 1 February 1979) on 9 April 1913, in
- Catherine Vance "Kate" (22 February 1914, Brooklyn, NY – 14 January 2015)[37][38]
- Chester William "Chet" Jr. (1915–2002)[37][39]
- Anna Elizabeth "Nancy" (1919–2003)[40][41]
- Mary Manson (1931–2006)[42][43]
Catherine Vance graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1934,[44] became a music librarian with the Washington D.C. Public Library,[45] and married US Navy Commander James Thomas Lay (1909–2001[46]), from St. Clair, Missouri, in Chester and Catherine's suite at the Fairfax Hotel in Washington, D.C., on 9 March 1945.[47] She had met Lay in the summer of 1934 while visiting her parents in Southeast Asia.[44]
Anna Elizabeth ("Nancy") Nimitz was an expert on the Soviet economy at the RAND Corporation from 1952 until her retirement in the 1980s.
Sister Mary Aquinas (Nimitz) joined the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, working at the Dominican University of California. She taught biology for 16 years and was academic dean for 11 years, acting president for one year, and vice president for institutional research for 13 years before becoming the university's emergency preparedness coordinator. She held this job until her death, due to cancer, on 27 February 2006.
Nimitz was also a Freemason.[48]
Death
In late 1965, Nimitz suffered a stroke, complicated by pneumonia. In January 1966, he left the US Naval Hospital (Oak Knoll) in Oakland to return home to his naval quarters. He died at home on the evening of 20 February at Quarters One on Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay, four days before his 81st birthday.[49] His funeral on 24 February – what would have been his 81st birthday – was at the chapel of adjacent Naval Station Treasure Island, and Nimitz was buried with full military honors at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno.[50][51][52][53] He lies alongside his wife and his lifelong friends Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Admiral Richmond K. Turner, and Admiral Charles A. Lockwood and their wives, an arrangement made by all of them while living.[54]
Dates of rank
United States Naval Academy Midshipman – January 1905
Ensign | Lieutenant junior grade | Lieutenant | Lieutenant commander | Commander | Captain |
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O-1 | O-2 | O-3 | O-4 | O-5 | O-6 |
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7 January 1907 | Never held | 31 January 1910 | 29 August 1916 | 1 February 1918 | 2 June 1927 |
Commodore | Rear admiral | Vice admiral | Admiral | Fleet admiral |
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O-7 | O-8 | O-9 | O-10 | Special Grade |
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Never held | 23 June 1938 | Never held | 31 December 1941 | 19 December 1944 |
- Nimitz never held the rank of lieutenant junior grade, as he was appointed a full lieutenant after three years of service as an ensign. For administrative reasons, Nimitz's naval record states that he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant on the same day.
- Nimitz was promoted directly from captain to rear admiral. During Nimitz's service, there was only one rank of rear admiral, without the later distinction between upper and lower half, nor did the rank of commodore exist when Nimitz was at that stage of his career.
- By presidential appointment, he skipped the rank of vice admiral and became an admiral in December 1941.
- Nimitz's rank of fleet admiral was made permanent in the United States Navy on 13 May 1946, a lifetime appointment.[55]
Decorations and awards
United States awards
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Submarine Warfare insignia |
gold stars
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Army Distinguished Service Medal |
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Silver Lifesaving Medal
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World War I Victory Medal with Secretary of the Navy Commendation Star | |
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American Defense Service Medal |
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Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
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World War II Victory Medal |
National Defense Service Medal with service star |
Foreign awards
Orders
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United Kingdom – Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
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France – Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (French: Grand-Officier de la Légion d'honneur) |
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Netherlands – Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau with Swords (Dutch: Ridder Grootkruis in de Orde van Oranje Nassau)
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Greece – Grand Cross of the Order of George I |
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China – Grand Cordon of Pao Ting (Tripod) Special Class
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Guatemala – Cross of Military Merit First Class (Spanish: La Cruz del Merito Militar de Primera Clase) |
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Cuba – Grand Cross of the Order of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (Spanish: Gran Cruz de la Orden de Carlos Manuel de Céspedes) |
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Argentina – Order of the Liberator General San Martín (Spanish: Orden del Libertador San Martin) |
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Ecuador – Order of Abdon Calderon (1st Class)
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Belgium – Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown with Palm (French: Grand Croix de l'ordre de la Couronne avec palme) |
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Italy – Knight of the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Italy (Italian: Cavaliere di Gran Croce) |
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Brazil – Order of Naval Merit (Portuguese: Ordem do Mérito Naval) |
Decorations
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Philippines – Philippine Medal of Valor |
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Belgium – War Cross with Palm (French: Croix de Guerre Avec Palme)
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Service medals
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United Kingdom – Pacific Star |
Philippines – Liberation Medal with one bronze service star |
Memorials and legacy

Besides the honor of a United States Great Americans series 50¢ postage stamp, the following institutions and locations have been named in honor of Nimitz:
- supercarriers, which was commissioned in 1975 and remains in service
- Nimitz Foundation, established in 1970, which funds the National Museum of the Pacific War and the Admiral Nimitz Museum, Fredericksburg, Texas
- The Nimitz Freeway (Interstate 880) – from Oakland to San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Nimitz Glacier in Antarctica for his service during Operation Highjump as the CNO
- Nimitz Boulevard – a major thoroughfare in the Point Loma Neighborhood of San Diego
- Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Gate – Main gate for Naval Base San Diego San Diego
- Nimitz BEQ at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Goose Creek, South Carolina
- Camp Nimitz, a recruit camp constructed in 1955 at Naval Training Center San Diego
- Nimitz Highway – Honolulu, Hawaii near the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
- The Nimitz Library, the main library at the Annapolis, Maryland
- Nimitz Drive, in the Admiral Heights neighborhood of Annapolis, Maryland
- Nimitz Lane, Willingboro, New Jersey
- Callaghan Hall (the Naval and Air Force ROTC building at UC Berkeley) containing the Nimitz Library (was gutted by arson in 1985)
- The town of Summers County, West Virginia
- The summit on Nimitz Hill
- Nimitz Park, a recreational area located at United States Fleet Activities Sasebo, Japan
- The Nimitz Trail in Tilden Park in Berkeley, California
- The Main Gate at Pearl Harbor is called Nimitz Gate
- Admiral Nimitz Circle – located in Dallas, Texas
- Chester Nimitz Oriental Garden Waltz performed by Austin Lounge Lizards
- Admiral Nimitz Fanfare composed by John Steven Lasher (2014)
- Admiral Nimitz March composed by John Steven Lasher (2014)
- The Nimitz Building, Raytheon Company site headquarters, Portsmouth, Rhode Island
- Nimitz Road in Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, is named in his honor.
- Nimitz Place part of Havemeyer Park located in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, was named in his honor along with many other World War II military personnel.
- Nimitz Hall is the . The barracks was dedicated March 15, 2013.
- Nimitz-McArthur Building, Headquarters US Pacific Command
- Nimitz Statue, designed by San Antonio, Texas.
- Nimitz Drive in Grants, New Mexico
- Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Statue, commissioned by the Naval Order of the United States, is situated near the bow of the USS Missouri memorial on Ford Island, facing the USS Arizona memorial. The statue was dedicated 2 September 2013.[56]
- Nimitz Beach Park, Agat, Guam
- Nimitz Drive, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
- Nimitz Avenue, Mare Island, Vallejo California
- Chester W. Nimitz Street, Bakersfield, California
- Nimitz Road, Dover, Delaware
- Nimitz Street, College Station, Texas
Schools
- Nimitz High School, (Harris County, Texas)
- Nimitz High School, Irving, Texas.
- Chester W. Nimitz Middle School, Odessa, Texas
- Chester W. Nimitz Middle School, Huntington Park, California
- Nimitz Middle School, San Antonio, Texas[57]
- Chester Nimitz Middle School, Tulsa Oklahoma (Now Closed)
- Nimitz Elementary School, Sunnyvale, California
- Chester W. Nimitz Elementary School, Honolulu, Hawaii[58]
- Nimitz Elementary School, Kerrville, Texas[59]
Depictions in media
- in the 1965 war film "In Harm's Way," actor Henry Fonda plays the character "CINCPAC II," who might be based on Nimitz.
- In the 1976 war film Midway, Nimitz is portrayed by actor Henry Fonda.
- In the 2019 war film Midway, Nimitz is portrayed by actor Woody Harrelson.
See also
- Henry Arnold Karo—see hand-written inscription on photo given to Adm. Karo
- Admiral of the Navy
References
- ISBN 978-1-85109-961-0.
- ^ ISBN 0-87021-492-6.
- ^ Potter, p. 26.
- ^ Ancestry.com Archived September 1, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 17, 2014
- ^ "Nimitz Family Photographs". Pacific War Museum. Archived from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ^ John Woolley; Gerhard Peters. "Gerald R. Ford: Remarks at the U.S.S. Nimitz Commissioning Ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
- ^ National Park Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database. Ancestry.com Index to Compiled Confederate Military Service Records
- ^ "Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Biographical Sketch". The National Museum of the Pacific War. Archived from the original on 24 April 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
- ^ Lucky Bag. Nimitz Library U. S. Naval Academy. First Class, United States Naval Academy. 1905.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "Decatur II (Destroyer No. 5)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.
- ^ Potter, p. 124.
- ^ Johnston & Hedman, p. 93-96
- ^ "From Our Archive: The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps by Capt. Chester W. Nimitz, USN 1928". USNI Blog. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- ^ Potter, p. 126.
- ISBN 0-553-27182-2.
- ^ "HyperWar: Gray Steel and Black Oil [Chapter 12]".
- ^ Edwin Hoyt, How they won the war in the Pacific: Nimitz and his admirals (Rowman & Littlefield, 2011).
- ^ John Winton, Ultra in the Pacific: How Breaking Japanese Codes & Cyphers Affected Naval Operations Against Japan 1941-45 (1993).
- ISBN 9780160927799.
- ISBN 9781612512105.
- ISBN 9780231505260.
- ^ Gordon W. Prange, Donald M. Goldstein, and Katherine V. Dillon, Miracle at Midway (1982).
- ^ Samuel Eliot Morison, The Two-Ocean War; A Short History of the United States Navy in the Second World War (1963) pp 222-291.
- ^ Samuel Eliot Morison, Leyte, June 1944-January 1945 (1958)
- ISBN 9780674049635.
- ^ Megan Tzeng, "The Battle of Okinawa, 1945: Final turning point in the Pacific". History Teacher (2000): 95-117. Online
- ^ Morison, The Two-Ocean War pp 434-81.
- ^ James C. Bradford, "Nimitz, Admiral Chester (1885–1966)". in Gordon Martel, ed. The Encyclopedia of War (2011).
- ^ Judgement: Dönitz the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School.
- ISSN 0024-3019
- ^ "Admiral Nimitz Resigns U.N. Position as Plebiscite Administrator for Kashmir". Toledo Blade. Reuters. 4 September 1953. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ Fai, Ghulam Nabi (December 4, 2003). "Kashmir and the United Nations" (PDF). pp. 2–4. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 10, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
- ISBN 978-113-6-51752-5. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ISBN 9781400875238
- ^ Navy Department Library. "Documents relating to Admiral Nimitz's naval career" Archived July 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on July 10, 2009.
- ^ a b Potter. – p. 125.
- ^ "Catherine Nimitz Lay, 100". Cape Cod Times. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ February 17, 1915 – January 3, 2002
- ^ Potter. – p. 131.
- ^ September 13, 1919 – February 19, 2003.
- ^ Potter. – p. 150.
- ^ June 17, 1931 – February 27, 2006
- ^ a b Potter. pp. 158–59.
- ^ Potter. – p. 165.
- ^ January 6, 1909 – September 13, 2001.
- ^ Potter. p. 366.
- ^ "FAMOUS MASONS". www.mastermason.com. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
- ^ "Fleet Adm. Nimitz dies of stroke". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. 21 February 1966. p. 1.
- ^ "Private funeral held for Nimitz". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. 24 February 1966. p. 1A.
- ^ Potter. – p.472.
- ^ "Nimitz's Funeral Is Held On Coast; Admiral Declined Arlington Burial to Lie With Men". The New York Times. 25 February 1966. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
- ^ Lembke, Daryl E. (25 February 1966). "Adm. Nimitz Buried in Simple Rites". Los Angeles Times. p. 4.
- ^ Borneman. Page 465.
- ^ Archival service record of Chester Nimitz, "Awards and dates of rank", National Personnel Records Center, released 2008
- ^ Moore, Douglas M. (Autumn 2013). "Dedication of the Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Statue". Naval Order of the United States. 24 (11): 1–2, 10–11.
- ^ "Nimitz Middle School". North East Independent School District.
- ^ "Welcome to Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Elementary School". Hawaiʻi State Department of Education Offices. 2 May 2014.
- ^ "Nimitz Elementary School, Kerrville, Texas". Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
Bibliography
- Borneman, Walter R. (2012). The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy and King – The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-09784-0.
- Johnston & Hedman (2022). A Good and Favorable Wind: The Unusual Story of a Submarine Under Sail and its Cautionary Lessons for the Modern Navy. Ann Arbor: Nimble Books LLC. ISBN 978-1-60888-200-7.
- "Some Thoughts to Live By", Chester W. Nimitz with Andrew Hamilton, Boys' Life, 1966.
- Potter, E. B. Nimitz. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1976. ISBN 978-0-87021-492-9.
- Potter, E. B., and Chester W. Nimitz. Sea Power. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1960. ISBN 0-13-796870-1.
- Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941–1942. New York: W. W. Norton.
- ——— (2015). The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942–1944. New York: W. W. Norton.
- ——— (2020). Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944–1945. New York: W. W. Norton.
- Lilly, Michael A., Capt., USN (Ret), "Nimitz at Ease", Stairway Press, 2019. ISBN 1949267261.
Further reading
- Harris, Brayton (2012). Admiral Nimitz: The Commander of the Pacific Ocean Theater. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0230107656.
- Hoyt, Edwin Palmer (1970). How They Won the War in the Pacific: Nimitz and His Admirals. Weybright and Talley. ASIN B0006C5D54.
- Knortz, James A. "The Strategic Leadership of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz" Archived July 27, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. (Army War College Carlisle Barracks, 2012).
- Moore, Jeffrey M. (2004). Spies for Nimitz: Joint Military Intelligence in the Pacific War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1591144884.
- Stone, Christopher B. "Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz: Leadership Forged Through Adversity" (PhD dissertation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2018) Excerpt.
- Wildenberg, Thomas. "Chester Nimitz and the development of fueling at sea". Naval War College Review 46.4 (1993): 52–62.
- 1944 interview with Admiral Nimitz from Yank.
External links
- Mark J. Denger. "Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, A Five Star Submariner". Californians and the Military. California State Military Museum. Archived from the original on 13 October 2003. Retrieved 3 December 2003.
- "Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz". Frequently Asked Questions. Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
- National Museum of the Pacific War
- Nimitz State Historic Site in Fredericksburg, Texas
- "The Navy's Part in the World War". (26 November 1945). A speech by Nimitz from the Commonwealth Club of California Records at the Hoover Institution Archives.
- The short film Big Picture: The Admiral Chester Nimitz Story is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
- Guide to the Chester W. Nimitz Papers, 1941–1966 MS 236 held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy