Travel to Museum of the Pacific
Posted in Historic, Museums, Travel | By Guest Author | Tags: Historic, Museum, Travel, WWII
By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw
Photos by George Bradshaw
Fredericksburg, Texas was the home to Chester W. Nimitz, Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy. His home there is now part of the National Museum of the Pacific War. He was appointed to Annapolis by a Texas Senator and served a lifetime in the U.S. Navy, rising through the ranks to the rank of Fleet Admiral as appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt. He was commander of the Pacific Fleet during WWII and was aboard the USS Missouri for the signing of the Peace Treaty with Japan, and signed the document of the representative for the United States. He died in 1966 in California.Fredericksburg is located in the Hill Country of Texas and was settled by Germans, as evidenced by the wonderful German restaurants located there. Sauerkraut and German sausages are the mainstay of every menu. The town is an artist colony and has many galleries and boutiques.
WWII is alive within the walls of the Museum of the Pacific. Original artifacts and documents are contained in the George W. Bush Gallery and in the museum. Also located on the grounds are the Memorial Wall, containing pictures and plaques from veterans and the ships they were attached to during the war, the Plaza of the Presidents, depicting former presidents and their tours of duty within the military, the Japanese Garden of Peace, and the Pacific Combat Zone, which has a display of an actual field hospital, plus American and Japanese armaments of war.
Telegram announcing Pearl Harbor attack - "This is no drill"
There is a PT boat and a miniature Japanese submarine for viewing and inspection, along with the casing of the third atom bomb that was to be dropped on the Japanese mainland if it was needed. The telegram informing the military of the bombing of Pearl Harbor is there, stating “This is no drill.”
PT Boat
Atomic Bomb Casing
When we were walking along the Memorial Wall, examining the pictures and stories pictured there, we met an elderly gentleman who must have been in his late eighties. He struck up a conversation with us and started telling stories of his combat experiences during WWII. He told of the three ships he was on, all three being shot out from under him, and why he survived all three, and the fellow sailors around him who did not survive. We talked to him for a long time, until he was called away by a friend, and we bid him good-bye with tears running down our cheeks. We thanked him for everything he had done for us and for his country. This gentleman is yet another reason why we should never forget.
Tomorrow- Peggy heads back up to Alaska.