Admiral Chester Nimitz - Master of the Pacific 

Pinned post for Q&A :)

One of the very very few men deserving to have a super carrier named after him.

In the early 1960s Nimitz had a home in the Berkeley hills overlooking the San Francisco Bay. The neighborhood children knew he was a good customer for girl scout cookies and boy scout fund raising efforts. As a 10 year old, I managed to sell him a boy scout event ticket. He invited me into his living room and showed me his telescope where he could view ships in the Bay. My interaction with him seems consistent with what I have read about his interpersonal relations since.

Nimitz was extremely competent and it seems like he made everyone around him better, no matter the context. He had massive respect for those working beneath him, and empowered his subordinates to do their best.

There's another good anecdote about Nimitz. During his time as Captain of The USS Augusta, he managed to accidentally collide with a tanker during a routine refueling operation in a major sea incident. Captain Nimitz turned to a young lieutenant and asked him what he should have done. The young lieutenant replied that Nimitz should have anchored in the weather and backed down to the ship. Nimitz looked at him and said “That’s right, and don’t you ever forget that!”

Met Halsey in 1958 just before he died, and it was a wonderful ten minutes. Saw Nimitz close up and while he didn’t greet anyone individually, it was obvious we were in the presence of greatness. .

A story I heard about the crash in San Francisco Bay was that Nimitz would not leave the wreck until his cap had been retrieved, much to the outrage of some of the rescuers. They learned later that the cap had a pocket in the crown in which the admiral carried communication codes relevant to upcoming operations and he wanted them secured or destroyed.

My grandfather, Lt. Tommy Roscoe, was the copilot of the plane Nimitz was on that crashed and the one fatality. They never found his body, because it was pulled off by the strong currents in that part of San Francisco Bay. I knew the plane had flipped over when it struck a submerged object, but I'd never seen that photo of the wreckage. Much more damage to the front of the plane than I'd always pictured. Appreciate you including it in the video.

I’ve been to the Nimitz Museum (now named the National Museum of the Pacific Theater) in Fredericksburg, TX, many times. It’s always an inspirational journey, and Nimitz was absolutely the Right Man at the Right Time!

Thank you for this excellent discussion. Broadly, Nimitz humility allowed him to get the best out of his subordinates and work with the massive personalities of King and MacArthur without derailing the war effort. He's the best kind of leader because he didn't let his ego get in the way of figuring out the best way to win the war in the Pacific. Truly a great man.

In my shallow reading of WWII Pacific history, Nimitz seemed like a distant, omniscient demi-god who never erred. Thanks for this opportunity to gain way-overdue details to his remarkable performance and character.

havent watched it yet, but please make more videos spotlighting important or even semi important people in naval history. One of my favorite typ's of videos on this channel

Find it also cool he met Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō of the IJN and was there for his funeral, also he helped preserve his flagship, but there was great deal of tragedy in his family in the aftermath of the war,

Craig Symonds recently released a book focussed on Nimitz's tenure in the Pacific, "Nimitz at War." It's not a conventional biography, it only really picks up steam once Nimitz gets off the plane at Pearl Harbor (even his cross-country train trip from DC to San Diego is mentioned only superficially). And for the first six months of Nimitz's tenure Symonds retreads much of the same ground he did in his previous book on Midway; although even then he's able to add a new twist to it by telling the battles from Nimitz's perspective (which means a whole lot of anxious waiting, then a burst of paperwork when the fleets come home) and by talking about his grand strategy and political activities, including dealing with King, MacArthur, the army leadership in Hawaii, even the French. But these are relatively minor hiccups. We still get a solid glimpse into Nimitz's character, leadership style, and relationships with friends, subordinates, and military and political peers. We get a look at the decisions behind Nimitz's many successes, and even his relatively few failures (not sticking up for Rochefort and Fletcher, and not cancelling the Peleieu landings). We even get a short look at the personalities and achievements of the likes of Halsey, Spruance, Mitscher, MacArthur, Turner, Smith and others. Somewhat to my amusement, I found myself liking Symonds' depiction of the likes of Spruance, Mitscher, Turner and Smith much better than say James Hornfisher's in The Fleet at Flood Tide, since Symonds is actually willing to critically examine people and assign blame where it is warranted.

Hello my friend. BT3 BRYANT U.S.S. Gridley CG-21 Advance boiler technician here. I'm 62 now and still on duty, manning my(our) bridge and street, trying to keep the silly...villains SAFE here in San Diego. I'm always busy w/medical stuff etc. and your channel cures my woes. Thanks. Curtis.

For the Coxswain part, regardless of rank, it's always a position of authority regardless of rank to see to the safety of all passengers and crew on the small boats. That's taught very early on to anybody who's going to be crewing small boats in the US Navy. As for the rest, it's so much of "it's easier to beg forgiveness than ask (or wait for) permission."

That story about the sailor telling Nimitz to sit down after the plane crash: King would have chewed the sailor out for daring to even speak to him; MacArthur wouldn't have let his rank insignia be covered by a blanket.

It’s a treat to wake up on cold grey days to a new Drach video

I’m reading Trent’s book right now (I bought it when John Parshall mentioned it in one of the past streams. Great book, it’s basically a leadership masterclass in practical steps. It’s a great new way of approaching history, which makes it feel much more actual and close that it is when reading a more “traditional” history book. Well done Trent!

Looking forward to this!! As someone who grew up in this man's hometown, on a street bearing his name, and who's high school summer job was giving tours at his museum (housed in the hotel his grandfather built) I can't help but feel a special connection to Adm. Nimitz. I hope to be a fraction of the leader, listener, and competent decisionmaker he was.

I was playing a card game with my cousins, and got a card that said "if you could go back in time and meet one person, who would it be & why". I responded with Nimitz, and my why was at the time "name another person to see the Pacific more action during ww2". This actually impressed my ex-navy grandfather, who served on CGN-36.

Great video! I enjoyed the opportunity to learn about Admiral Nimitz. Thank God he was there when we needed him.

What I found remarkable about Nimitz is that he was able to restrain both Halsey and MacArthur while somehow appease the God Emperor of USN, Fury itself incarnate, Admiral King at the same time, that require a nerve of steel, a keen mind and great understanding of strategic situation.

Another great guest speaker. Have to say I’ll be getting the book. Also credit again has to go to you Drach for the tone in which you conduct these interviews/conversations. Not too formal, but loads of information presented in an interesting way!

YES!!! My favorite Naval officer finally has a video on here. I'm so happy.

He definitely had the respect of the sailors.

The best German admiral of the war. So to speak.

I spent an evening with Admiral Nimitz. My father worked for the Perkin Elmer Corporation and I was a member of the company rifle team. One evening the sponsor of the rifle team, Chester Nimitz paid us a visit and I was able to spend the evening with him talking about life.

Sometimes we get conflicting stories and have to mull things over. There was a story from MacArthur's side that MacArthur was getting pressure to do something, so he worked up a plan to attack Rabaul with its 100,000 Japanese soldiers. This was crazy and he got a perhaps somewhat panicked communication to NOT do that. He was happy to be left alone to continue his planning. The other side of the story is that MacArthur once came up with a crazy plan to attack Rabaul and wiser counsel from higher up put a stop to that. In any case, Rabaul was bypassed and the Japanese must have turned to farming to survive for a ride home after the war. It would be interesting to see a list of all the strong points that were bypassed. Nimitz and many others seem to have quickly realized, or knew it all along, that control of the air will chase away the other side's navy and then when no supplies arrive and no enemy comes to fight, the strong point is useless. This also makes me wonder if any soldiers were picked up after their position had been bypassed to garrison another strong point. And now I wonder how many Japanese personnel were picked up from somewhere behind the front lines when the war had ended.

The Nimitz museum in Fredericksburg, Texas is my favorite military museum I’ve visited. Great exhibits.

In every generation a person steps up to put their hand on the tiller to guide the ship of history. As an Aussie I salute Admiral Nimitz.

Great work on profiling the two best theatre commander admirals of the war in the past few weeks; Cunningham and Nimitz

I've loved these overviews of significant naval figures, especially these collaborations/discussions, and I surely hope to see more like them!

Your biographies of Admirals is truly excellent. Outstanding in every way. I enjoy them a great deal.

Wow, this was amazingly good! The insights on the complexity of interactions between huge egos handled so adeptly by Nimitz was inspiring. God bless you all for bringing that to us in such a beautiful way. Cheers!

The greatest admiral, man and American. Most humble and professional. Family man that had high morals and solid love for a free world. Went on to do great things for the betterment of mankind. There better be a new Nimitz carrier.

Great video! Thank you. Trent Hone is truly a very knowledgeable guy who is excellent to listen to. Thanks for interview him.

Chester Nimitz was one of the greatest general officers the US Navy has ever known.

I admire Admiral Nimitz and thanks for the great interview.

Thank God we had him and many other great men to get us thru that war

I am reminded of generals of the past who had to deal with disparate personalities and events to achieve their goals. Henry V comes to mind. Eisenhower had Patton and Montgomery, among many. I can’t think of anyone who had to deal with the likes of Halsey, MacArthur, Roosevelt and King et al and prosecute the Pacific war over such a vast battleground. Chester Nimitz was a man perfectly placed for the job at hand. Excellent insights from your video.

Outstanding. Thanks to both of you.

What a man. America's greatest sailor and one of history's greatest military commanders

Thank you Drach. Well done. Excellent interview and in depth discussion.

Temperament is the final attribute that great leaderships need to be truly successful. Even if that leader lacks or is deficient in other areas, the ability to demonstrate an unaffected calm is essential.

Drach, your love of naval history is a blessing to everyone who watches your channel. Thanks dude!

No more laconic and stoic leader. Perfectly willing to accord his inferiors plaudits. Refused to make scapegoats after Pearl. Yet, uncanny and aggressive in his battle doctrine. Great man.

Absolutely fascinating insight into an extremely capable commander. Thank you Drach, as ever, and also to Trent for all the work that went into the insight. On the lookout for your book, sir! 🧐

IJN: Attacks Pearl Harbor Admiral Nimitz: Oh no, _Midway._

Everyone here needs to read Potter's biography on Nimitz. If not the finest military officer produced by America, he was a peer of the finest..

Excellent, thank you both.

I don't understand this video can you be more Pacific?

God Bless Fredericksburg TX!!

I've been waiting for this! What an outstanding Officer & Naval career... Cheers & Thankyou Drac

I appreciate this channel very much. My favourite videos are this one, the series about the salvage operations at Pearl Harbour and Typhoon Cobra. Thank you very much. ❤🇦🇺

Having grown up in central Texas, I wrote a paper in a college history class about the contribution of Texans in WWII, and the disproportionate number of service persons Texas contributed more than most other states to the war effort, and Admiral Chester Nimitz, from Frericksburg Texas, was one of my subjects. So I learned a lot about him and enjoyed every bit of studying the man and his life contributions. God bless service persons everywhere.

Brilliant episode and format. 2 masters of their profession at work. Love it 👍

Ypur channel is absolutely amazing. It's a treasure trove of naval history.

This was amazing, very insightful with these anecdotes on the interpersonal level. Thank you

Thank you Trent, Drachinifel, and Admiral Nimitz!

This was a well put together Documentary of Admiral Chester Nimitz. I believe that he was one of America’s favorite World War 2 Admirals of all time!!!!

Excellent job with a fascinating yet complex story!!! I learned more here about Nimitz and the Pacific campaigning than in any other place!

Great guest & discussion !! Thks !

Thank you, Drachinifel.

Great interview. I'd read Craig Symond's recent biography of Admiral Nimitz. Looks like Mr. Hone's book is going to move up the stack for my next read. As always, excellent work, Drachinifel.

As a Student of Naval Warfare, and also British Born. I feel it must be stated That Admiral Chester Nimitz was an Exceptional Naval Commander. His Leadership and Ability, was in large measure responsible for the Success of the USN in the Pacific. He was a Master of Strategy and Tactics, while being a wise judge and inspiring to all under his command.

Likely just an old sailors story but supposedly Adm, King wanted to change the working Navy officer uniform, Nimitz refused and kept on wearing wrinkled brown kakis, so did everyone else under his command. That explains the uniforms in the photos with King anyways. Great video. Thanks!

excellent. I would have liked to hear more about Nimitz views on submarines and their use in the pacific.

King, Lee, Fisher, Cunningham (Part 1) and now Nimitz.

Brilliant and insightful. Thank you for this quality interview.

this is the fourth time I am watching this clip, I love this kind of videos on great leaders

I bought Trent's book on Kindle back in December. Haven't finished it yet, but the subject matter is well covered.

Fantastic presentation. Thanks, Drac & Trent

These profiles you do on _Great US Navy Admirals_ leads me tell you this. Such men and women are still flourishing in the USN. They stand out from amongst their peers by their intelligence, perseverance and dedication. And they encourage (if not demand) the same from their fellow officers and enlisted crews. I served with several such men because my COs sought them out, recruited them from other commands, trained and mentored them and pushed and tested them. Ensigns didn't often last long. During my five years of sea duty; Of the officers that served 20+ years, All had _Command at Sea,_ 9 made flag rank; in addition to my COs that both retired as Vice Admirals. One of those ensigns made CNO. On the enlisted side, of those that served 20+ years, 80% retired as E-8 or E-9. If you know anything about Submarine crews, you know that these percentages are astronomical. The Boat herself did even better. But we still can't talk about that.

I’m a year late, but you always knock it out the park! 🍻

Superb!

I would highly recommend the Nimitz’s museum in Fredericksburg Tx, they have one of the Japanese minisubs from the attack on pear harbor. Really cool place.

I must admit, the various little anecdotes and insights into one of the great managers and strategists, was vastly more interesting then anticipated. 😊

I’m buying that book!

One thing that amazes me about WWII in the Pacific is the sheer confidence it takes to leave what used to be major objectives behind in 1944. I'm watching the World War Two In Real Time series, which has just hit 1944 (their gimmick is they present the war as if it was currently happening, just 79 years in the future of when it actually happened, and with the benefit of that many years of history to provide understanding of what was happening). At this point, they've just had the first landings on the west coast of New Britain, seemingly intent on finally taking out the Japanese base at Rabaul, which was a constant source of problems basically from the start of the Battle of Guadalcanal onwards. Everything suggests this is a major military base and capturing it would be a major strategic victory....but I looked it up and apparently the Americans just bomb their airport into oblivion (already largely done as of the timeline of the WWII In Real Time presentation), the Australians use a submarine blockade to deny the use of its naval facilties, and they all just leave some 69 000 Japanese troops (of presumably various services) behind as they move on to win the rest of the war. That seems like an extremely large force to leave behind your front line....though I'm thinking like this is a land war - 69 000 troops with 0 planes and 0 ships stuck on an island are only a threat if you really want to be on that island. And unless it's a really big island with good agricultural capacity, if you do want to be on that island you can just sit offshore and wait. Sieges are slow and can be difficult to maintain long enough, but there's a reason they've been a part of war since the development of fortifications that you'd rather not actually attack: it's the best way to neutralize a defensive emplacement if you have the time.

As a Navy man currently it's pronounced "fohksuhl" and "cocksin" rather than forecastle and coxswain. Weird I know lol. But great vid as always, and great guest. Nimitz is one of the greatest to ever take to sea.

I'm one of those "children of" who is grateful for his leadership. My father served in the USN in the Pacific Theater.

Where is part 2? I repeat, where is part 2? The world wonders! Jokes aside, nice video Drach

I am a huge Nimitz fan being a Retired Navy Chief, so obviously I am going to read this book! I don't know if you have it in your book, but in WW II the Pacific Sailors proudly said "The Army has Bradley, we have Nimitz!". No higher compliment that I can think of, for sure. One point that I don't you know or mention in the book- Nimitz not only got the Navy away from gasoline submarines (which were highly dangerous to operate) and start using diesels which were safer, but also when he was Chief of Naval Operations after the war, he pushed the Navy into the Nuclear Power propulsion era. He was a big fan of the USS Nautilus program from it's conception. So he impacted the US Navy Submarine Service by bringing in newer and safer propulsion programs. Shows how visionary he was.

There is a fabulous WWII museum about the Pacific theater in Nimitz's hometown of Frederick burg, Texas.

A great chat. Already grabbed the E-book & really looking forward to reading it!

Really preferred the format you used for EJ King and Ching Lee, chronological and organized detail. Was looking forward to that here.

One hour length video about Nimitz, yay

Good morning, Drach.

Excellent book !

That was excellent, bravo,ww1,ww2, Korea ,Vietnam, all videos are great from everyone. 🙏 Wife's grandmother second husband was D-Day, Canadian army. Blessings

I cannot recommend Trent Hone's books too highly! Top video, Thank you Drach!

Hypo? When you develop black & white photos, the first tray is the developer which brings the image up, the second tray is the stop bath which shuts down the developer all at once, the third tray is the hypo or fix or fixer which fixes the image so it will slowly degrade over decades at least if not centuries. Then comes the wash to get all the chemistry out of the paper. Hypo is a good code name for a unit whose job is getting a fix on the enemy's dispositions and intentions.

Excellent program

Thank-you

This video, was an excllent. It filled in some gaps of my knowledge about Nimtiz and the war in the Pacific. One thing I wish to add as a side note is Admiral Nimitz's summation of the Battle of Midway and the Janaese tactics. The Japanese used only 4 fleet carrierrs against the presumed 2 USN carriers that they to exist when it was 3 carriers and the land based aircraft stationed on Midway an unsinkable island. The Japanese had 'Even with the most complete warning, [ US signals experts had broken the secret Japanese naval code ] it is inconceivsble that the three United States carriers could by any combination of luck and skill have defeated and turned back the 8 carriers, 11 battleships and immense number of supporting vessls... had the Japanese fleet been concentrated.'" The Great Sea War, Chester W. Nimitz. Admiral Nimitz continues in his assement

Can you do a video about Admiral Leahy next? some said he was second most powerful man in the US after FDR since he has eyes and ears of FDR in Naval, probably military matters as well.

I knew a guy that while an MP at Pear Harbor, wrote Admiral Nimitz a speeding ticket! He was writing up the driver but Nimitz insisted he write it to him as he gave the order. Guess who got called in on the carpet? "You know his isn't going anywhere?" "Yeah, I know... can I have a copy?"

Worth mentioning his role in developing underway replenishment (refueling destroyers at sea during WW1), and his role in establishing the submarine base at Pearl Harbor, and his role in developing the NROTC program at UC Berkeley. About the train ride on his way to Pearl Harbor. That also took him out of the command loop for the relief of Wake Island. Not sure if that was a consideration, but it did work to his advantage. I was hoping he would dip into Nimitz's Chief of Staff arrangements. Also, who thought up the 3rd/5th dual fleet command structure?

Brilliant video, thanks.👍