The National Museum of the Pacific War is located in Fredericksburg, Texas, the boyhood home of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Fleet Admiral Nimitz served as CinCPAC, Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet during World War II. The National Museum of the Pacific War is proud to be the only site in the continental United States dedicated exclusively to telling the story of the Asiatic Pacific Theater of Operations in World War II.

The Admiral Nimitz Foundation was established in 1964 (as the Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Naval Museum, Inc.) to support a museum honoring Fredericksburg’s native son, Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces, Pacific Ocean Area. In respect of Admiral Nimitz’s request that the museum honor all those who had served in the Pacific, in the ensuing years the Foundation supported and guided its transformation into today’s National Museum of the Pacific War. Now a well-established and respected institution, the Museum welcomes approximately 100,000 visitors annually, including 10,000-15,000 middle and high school students from across the state.

The six acre site includes the Admiral Nimitz Museum which is housed in the old Nimitz Hotel and tells the story of Fleet Admiral Nimitz beginning with his life as a young boy through his naval career as well as the evolution of the old hotel (now museum) in Fredericksburg, Texas. The Pacific Combat Zone which has a TBM and a WWII era PT Boat, among other large artifacts, is the only part of the museum that is by guided tour only. The Veterans' Walk of Honor and Memorial Wall can be found within the Memorial Courtyard. Just on the other side of the west wall of the courtyard is the Plaza of Presidents with a memorial honoring each of the ten presidents who served in World War II either politically or militarily. The Japanese Garden of Peace was a gift from the military leaders of Japan to the people of the United States in honor of Fleet Admiral Nimitz. The Togo study replica that is seen upon entrance to the garden was built in Japan and shipped to the United States to be assembled by the same craftsmen who built it in Japan. On December 7 of 2009 the museum hosted the Grand Re-Opening of the newly expanded George H. W. Bush Gallery where the second floor houses the Nimitz Education and Research Center.

The museum is open from 9am to 5pm everyday except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. For more information, go to www.PacificWarMuseum.org or call 830-997-8600 x250.