visitourwebsiteatpacificwarmuseum.org …€¦ · · 2015-10-29freshing to break the...

Nimitz News Dispatch

Visit OurWebsite at PacificWarMuseum.org

“”We inspire Our Youth By Honoring Our Heroes”

Newsletter of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation and National Museum of the Pacific War,A Property of the Texas Historical Commission --------- Third Quarter 2015

hase I of the majorr e n o v a t i o n splanned for the

Pacific Combat Zone (PCZ)has begun. Constructionbegan in March and includesa new Visitors' Center andrestrooms, an orientationcourtyard where visitorswalk the Pacific Ocean map,and new exhibits featuringinteract ive audio-videoprograms for the TBM andPT-boat buildings. It isexpected to be finished bythe end of 2015 or early2016. Phases II and III willinc lude expanding andimp r o v i n g t h e L i v i n gHistory Battlefield, buildinga theater-s tyle 400 seatamphitheater, new barracksfor reenacting volunteers anda new mil i ta ry vehic lestorage and garage building.The architect for this projectis David Richter out ofCorpus Chris t i , and theConstruction Manager isDuecke r Cons t r u c t i onCompany which is based inStonewall, Texas.

n 14August 2015, the 70th anniversary ofthe end of World War II, people gatheredwith Texas Land Commissioner George P.

Bush in the Memorial Courtyard to pay homage tothose who had fought and brought to a conclusionone of the longest and bloodiest wars in U.S. his-tory. On that day, guns fell silent in the Pacific,and a new kind of world started to emerge. SixWWII veterans were present, including AlvinStotz, Sam Sorenson, P.B. Snyder, Huey Lamb,Jim Glazener and Ernestine Walker-Burnham, anurse who had worked in the large Marine Hospitalin Norfolk, VA.

Construction Begins at the Pacific Combat Zone

70th Anniversary of theEnd ofWWII Commemorated

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Supplementing Rations in New Guinea

he 202 AAA (AW) Bat-talion landed at Milne

Bay, New Guinea [now knownas Papua New Guinea] in De-cember 1943 and remainedthere for some six months.During its assignment, rationswere adequate, although notplentiful, and the men were al-ways on the “look-out” forsomething different and re-freshing to break the pre-dictability of the bland chowline.

The U.S. Army has alwaysbeen known for individualsgifted as scroungers, wheeler-dealers and arrangers, and “A”Battery was not lacking in theseessential personnel. Wordcame to Lieutenant Howard“Pat” Patton that the U.S. Navywas clearing out a food dumpon the opposite side of the Bay,and they might be able to find some canned orange andgrapefruit juice, which sounded very appealing in those hottropics. Minor details were hazy, but whoever brought theword had some cans of the juice as proof. After some dis-cussion, Patton was persuaded to make a scouting trip to thedump. Once there, they were both appalled and delightedto see the scattered cans, broken cases and all-around de-plorable state of the food dump.Wanting to be open and aboveboard, Patton went to the

Naval Commander in charge and told him how well his mencould police their dump, thus relieving them of onerous dirtyhands duty, work that Patton claims the U.S. Navy generallydoes not fancy. The Navy agreed to the proposition. TheNaval Commander stressed that they were only to takeloose cans and the worst broken cases. Armed with this per-mission, BatteryAarranged with anArmy Engineering outfitto drive a 2½ ton truck across the Bay to the food dump, tobe filled up and then returned to Milne Bay aboard the engi-neering outfit’s LCVP. In return, they were promised a cutof the action.Arriving again at the dump, they applied themselves and

soon cleaned the dump of all the loose cans, worst brokencases, badly broken cases, slightly broken cases and finallyany other cases that would still fit into the truck. Patton be-

came nervous and felt a bit guiltyabout their liberal definition of brokencases, but the men assured him theywere within their limits, and he was re-luctant to pull rank over such a smallmatter.With the setting of the sun, the truck

was driven onto the LCVP for the rideback to the other side of the Bay. (ALCVP is the smallest Higgins-typelanding craft, the full name beingLanding Craft, Vehicle Personnel.) Asthey pulled off the beach and wereswinging around, the coxswain foundthat the power winch that raised thebow ramp wasn’t working, and thefront ramp remained stuck straight out.The coxswain gunned the motor hop-ing that the bow would then naturallyrise, and they could ride back with thefront open. But instead of rising, theramp started to scoop up water andpoint deeper to scoop up even more. Itlooked to Patton like a Naval version

of an airplane’s outside loop. In an instant, he thought of theprice they were about to pay for those orange and grapefruitjuices and the retribution they were about to suffer forstretching the definition of “broken” cases. As the Lieu-tenant in charge, would he have to reimburse the Army forthe swamped boat and truck? How many monthly deduc-tions from his salary would it take to pay for them? (Up tothen, he had hoped the war would not last that long.)

The coxswain quickly adjusted his thinking and em-ployed the men to crank the ramp up by hand. Each arc ofthe hand of 60 degrees raised the ramp only about a quarterof an inch. In their own defense, the men took turns manhan-dling the crank and eventually ratcheted the ramp to a rea-sonably secure position, and the LCVP crept home.

Howard Patton recalls that the juice tasted especiallysweet – literally and figuratively. It might have been consid-ered a scavenging expedition, but Patton said this for theArmy: the dump looked a lot better when they finished thanit did when the Navy was in charge.

To schedule an oral history for a World War II veteran,please contact Reagan Grau, Chief Archivist of the Na-tional Museum of the PacificWar. (830) 997-8600 x262 [email protected].

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The following amusing anecdote was taken from the Oral History ofLt. Howard L. “Pat” Patton, U.S. Army, 202 AAA (AW) Battalion

nnd fall 2015 quark:Layout 1 9/10/15 12:10 PM Page 2

Nimitz News Dispatch “We Inspire Our Youth By Honoring Our Heroes”

Tom Lea: LIFE andWWII Exhibit Opens Soon!he exhibit displaying the work of Tom Lea(1907-2001), an artist, illustrator and writer,

will open on the 17th of October and close on 10January 2016. It is entitled “Tom Lea: LIFE andWWII,” and it will be shown in the TemporaryGallery. It will be free to the public. Lea, a nativeof El Paso, Texas, was the first civilian artist hiredby LIFE Magazine as a correspondent duringWWII. Previously, he had focused on large muralpaintings and illustrating books for other Texaswriters, such as J. Frank Dobie. Despite no expe-rience painting combat scenes, he boarded a Navydestroyer and traveled over 100,000 miles record-ing all types of warfare on many Pacific battle-fields.The Museum is working with the Tom Lea In-

stitute and Brown Foundation. It will display 26paintings and drawings -- all based on Lea’s eye-witness accounts. Included will be the 1944 paint-ing “Marines Call It That 2,000 Yard Stare,”which many feel is the most famous war paintingof all time. All of these works are on loan fromthe U.S. Center of Military History at Fort Belvoir,Virginia, and some have never been displayed be-fore.Adding to the significance of this exhibit will be

a day-long conference for scholars, military histo-rians, veterans, and the general public. In conjunc-tion with our Museum’s exhibit, another exhibitcalled Tom Lea: Chronicler of 20th Century Amer-ica will be on display at the Bullock Texas StateHistory Museum in Austin.

Learn more by reading:The Two Thousand Yard Stare:

Tom Lea’s WWII(includes drawings, paintingsand eye-witness accounts)

Member’s Price $34 (Retail: $40)Available through the Museum Store.

See Page 9 to Purchase

rtifacts belonging to the collections of The NationalMuseum of the PacificWar are currently on loan and

being displayed in an exhibit at the Institute of TexanCultures in SanAntonio. The exhibit is calledOurPart of the Victory: Texans inWWII, about thecontributions of Texans to the War Effort. Theexhibit opened 2 September 2015 (the 70th an-niversary of the end of the WWII) and will beon display until 7 December 2016 (the 75th an-niversary of the U.S.’s entry into the war).Along with a massive civilian effort on the home

front, some 750,000 Texans served during the war.This pivotal point in history shaped the direction of futureglobal development and brought great changes to Texas.

The exhibit explores the role of Texans during the war andsheds light on the impact the war had on the Lone Star

State.Our Museum loaned the Institute approxi-mately 20 artifacts, all of which haveconnections with Texans who served inthe war. They include: letters from vet-erans and telegrams from the War De-partment, photos, uniform components,a Navy Cross, and a Texas flag raised over

theUSS Pennsylvania atWake and Okinawa.(The sailor was threatened with court martial if he

did it again.)

Tom Lea with His Painting “The Price” (1944)

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TOM LEA: LIFE & WWIITOM LEA: LIFE & WWII

Museum Artifacts on Display at the Institute of Texan Cultures



Saluting Hispanic American Contributions to Victory

ispanic Heritage Month iscelebrated from 15 Septem-

ber to 15 October to recognize thecontributions of Hispanic Ameri-cans to the United States and cel-ebrate the group’s heritage andculture. The National Museum ofthe Pacific War joins the rest ofthe nation in paying tribute to theHispanics who fought in the Pa-cific Theater. Throughout the Mu-seum’s exhibits, Hispanic unitsand the exploits of individuals arechronicled.

An estimated 250,000 to500,000 Hispanic Americansserved in the military duringWorld War II. (Since the majorityof Hispanics were classified as“white” by the standards of theday, no specific records were keptof their individual participation.)Three units of predominantly

Hispanic personnel served in thePacific Theater: the 200th and515th Coast Artillery (New Mex-ico National Guard) and the 158thInfantry Regimental CombatTeam (Arizona National Guard).The 200th and 515th Coast Artilleries were both lost inthe Philippines upon the surrender of Bataan in April1942.

The 158th Regimental Combat Team fought in theSouthwest Pacific under General Douglas MacArthur andsaw combat on New Guinea and the Philippines, espe-cially on Luzon. It was awarded both the Presidential UnitCitation and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation forits distinguished action.

Hispanic Americans fought in every campaign de-picted in the George H.W. Bush Gallery. The followingareas highlight specific Hispanic contributions:

One exhibit, Arsenal of Democracy, describes the ef-forts of Hispanics on the Homefront. For example, thereis a photograph and story about Josephine Ledesma whoworked on airplanes in Texas. Another story on theBracero program, which brought Mexican agricultural la-

borers to the U.S. to help harvestcrops, is also described.Another exhibit, Texans Pitch In,

describes the assistance given byHispanics in Texas during the war.AWWII Facts section tells the storyof Felix Longoria, a MexicanAmer-ican soldier who was killed in thePhilippines, and denied a wake in asmall town in Texas because he wasconsidered “non-white.” A nation-wide controversy erupted, and withthe intercession of junior U.S. Sen-ator Lyndon B. Johnson, Longoriafinally was buried at ArlingtonCemetery in Virginia.

In the Liberation of the Philip-pines, four Hispanic soldiers wereMedal of Honor recipients: DavidGonzales, Manuel Perez, Cleto Ro-driguez, and Ysmael Villegas.There were also two HispanicMedal of Honor recipients whofought at Okinawa: Harold Gon-salves and Alejandro Ruiz. AnotherHispanic awarded the Medal ofHonor was Joe Martinez, who re-ceived the medal for his actions inthe Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

Three other Hispanic Americans of note: LT OscarPerdomo, of El Paso, shot down five Japanese planes overKorea on 13 August 1945 making him the last ace ofWorld War II. Mario Frederic Ramirez de Arellano wasthe first Hispanic submarine commander. He took com-mand of the USS Balao in April 1944. Pedro del Vallewas the first Hispanic to reach the rank of Lieutenant Gen-eral. He commanded the 1st Marine Division during thebattle for Okinawa.The Mexican flag flies in the lobby of the George H.W.

Bush Gallery to honor the 201st Fighter Squadron (TheAztec Eagles) of the Mexican Air Force which fought inthe Philippines in 1945. The squadron flew more than 90combat missions, totaling more than 1,900 hours of flighttime as it participated in the Allied effort to bomb Luzonand Formosa. During this fighting, five of the squadron’spilots were killed.

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Learn more by reading:MexicanAmericans&WWIIMember Price: $25.50Retail Price: $30

Available through the Museum Store.See Page 9 to Order



Memorial Day 2015: Preserving the Hope of a Nation

MemorialWall EndowmentWreath Presentations were madein the names of the following Ships, Units and Individuals:Ships: USS ARIZONA, USS BALCH/PORTERFIELD, USS

BALTIMORE, USS BATAAN, USS BILOXI, USS BUSH, USSCALIENTE, USS CEBU, USS COLORADO, USS DE HAVEN,USS DREXLER, USS ESSEX, USS EURYALE, USS FAREN-HOLT, USS FULTON, USS GEN MARK L. HERSEY, USSGENERAL A.E. ANDERSON, USS GENERAL R.E. CALLAN,USS GOSHEN, USS HUGHES, USS HULL, USS IDAHO, USSJUNEAU, USS LST 463, USSMARYLAND, USSMISSISSIPPI,USSMISSOURI, USSMONAGHAN, USS NEWMEXICO, USSOKLAHOMA CITY CL-91 & CLG/CG-5USS PRINCETON,USS RENSHAW, USS SALAMONIE, USS SALT LAKE CITY,USS SHELIAK, USS SMITH, USS SPENCE, USS TABBERER,USS WISCONSIN, USS WM. P. BIDDLE, and USS ZELLARS.Units: 158th Regimental Combat Team (Bushmasters),

16th Combat Cargo Squadron, 302nd Fighter ControlSquadron, 41st Bombardment Group (M), 4th Regiment, SixthMarines, Engineers,American BattleshipAssociation, ARISANMARU POWs, Civilian Internees of the Japanese, First AirCommando, and USN Base Hospital #15.

Individuals: CAPT. Henry L. Page, USN, Dale andGeorge Anderson, Donald D. Hessler, Fletcher Brothers, JimBob Phifer, Joe Leslie Ware and John Henry Winn, LCDRFrank J. Longtin, USN, Lester Rotter, LT Charles McCoy,USN, LTJG Henry Gregorio, USN, Marvin H. Raven, Rev-erend RobertWilch, Richard L. Bell, Sifjfredo Salinas, WayneB. Goodenow and PFC Ballard Pead.

nclement weather forced the annual commemora-tion of Memorial Day to be held in the historic

Nimitz Ballroom where General USMC (Ret) MichaelHagee welcomed those who had come to pay homageto everyone who had served and died protecting theUnited States during war.The Commanding Officer of the USS Nimitz, Capt.

John C. Ring, paid tribute by saying “Memorial Day isa day to honor those who both served and made the ul-timate sacrifice. Oftentimes, that sacrifice was made sothat others of us could live on. It was always made sothat all of us could live better, freer lives. To those whodied securing our peace and freedom, to those whoserved in conflict to protect our land, sacrificing theirown dreams to preserve the hope of a nation, establish-ing America as a bright beacon of light in a world withmany challenges, we owe those heroes a deep debt ofthanks.”Memorial wreaths had been placed in the Memorial

Courtyard the day before. Gold Star Mothers fromGillespie County made a special wreath presentation.Colors were posted and retired by the Texas CryptologicColor Guard, and patriotic music was sung by the St.Mary’s School Combined Choir. Cadet Charles Zowie,FBG High School NJROTC, led the Pledge of Alle-giance. The Rifle Salute was fired by the Nimitz LivingHistory Detachment, and Bill Smallwood played Taps.

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The Fleet Admiral Nimitz Legacy Society is a circle of indi-viduals who have included the Foundation and Museum in theirestate plans and have notified the Foundation of their intentions.If you would also like to benefit the Museum through a bequestin your will or through one of the many planned-giving vehiclesavailable, please contact Marty Kaderli for more information at(830) 997-8600 x204 or [email protected].


From the Desk of the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation:

hope everyone enjoyed a good summer.We surelydid. Although July and August were especially

hot, our Museum visitation numbersremained ahead of last year. The num-ber of plaque dedications in the Memo-rial Court Yard and Plaza of thePresidents also remain high. Our visi-tors continue to be impressed with oursuperb facility and the stories we tell.

The staff and our many volunteersand supporters did a terrific job on theNimitz Golf Classic in June. From afundraising standpoint, we had our besttournament to date.

As you will read in this issue, we

continue to make great progress in Phase 1 of the Pa-cific Combat Zone Renovation Project. It is exciting to

see the new structures rising out of theground and the plans coming to fruition.

As I mentioned last month, we open anew temporary exhibit on 17 October: TomLea, LIFE and World War II. This specialexhibit will be well worth a trip to the Mu-seum during the last quarter of the year.The Tom Lea Institute will also conduct aday-long seminar onTom Lea and his workin the Nimitz Ballroom on 17 October.Please check our website for details.

Dear Members,

Best Wishes, Mike Hagee

Truman and Claudia Gill -Members of The Fleet Admiral Nimitz Legacy Society:

he Admiral Nimitz Foundation and TheNational Museum of the Pacific War are grate-

ful for a substantial bequest received recently fromthe estate of Truman and Claudia Gill of Tuleta, Texas.Truman Gill was very proud to have served as a

seagoing Marine in World War II aboard the USSMississippi. His ship fought extensively in the Pa-cific, including in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, atthe Battle of Suriago Strait, Leyte Gulf and Okinawa,earning eight battle stars. The ship was also amongthe vessels anchored in Tokyo Bay witnessing thesigning of the surrender documents in September,1945.Mr. andMrs. Gill were long-time supporters of the

Museum. In 2003, they led fundraising efforts to fi-nance exhibits memorializing the Marine Corps’ con-tributions to victory in the Pacific, a topic ever dearto their hearts. They also were responsible for spon-soring a Memorial Wall plaque honoring the Seago-ing Marine Detachments in World War II. The plaquemay be found on the eastern wall of the Plaza ofPresidents.

Their generous bequest will help guarantee thefuture of the National Museum of the Pacific War,and the preservation of stories of bravery and sacri-fice from the Pacific in World War II.

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t is, perhaps, the most iconic kiss inAmerican history--a U.S. sailor and a

woman in white impulsively locking lips inNew York’s Times Square to celebrateJapan's surrender and the end of WWII,August 14, 1945. Famed Life Magazinephotographer Alfred Eisenstaedt capturedthat moment as he covered the celebration.Since its publication, though, the VJ DayKiss has generated its share of controversy:Who is the sailor? Who is the woman inwhite? Establishing the identities is difficult,because their faces are largely obscured.When was the photo actually taken? Estab-lishing a precise time for the photo has a sig-nificant impact on which candidates couldbe in the photo--and which couldn't.For the 70th anniversary of the end ofWorldWar II, a team

of astronomers from Texas State University has applied itsunique brand of celestial sleuthing to that famous kiss. Theirresults shed new light on the timing of the photo, showing thekiss happened at precisely 5:51 p.m. Texas State physics facultymembers Donald Olson and Russell Doescher, alongwith IowaState University astrophysicist Steven Kawaler, published theirfindings in theAugust 2015 issue of Sky & Telescope.

Dance of the Hours: Over the years, dozens of men andwomen have come forward claiming to be the persons in thephotograph. All have different stories, but the one thing theyshare in common is kissing a stranger in Times Square that day."All those people have said they were there and identify them-selves in the photograph," Olson said. "Who's telling the truth?They all could be telling the truth about kissing someone. I cantell you some things about the picture, and I can rule out somepeople based on the time of day.We can show that some of theaccounts are entirely inconsistent with the astronomical evi-dence."For decades, it was assumed the photo was taken after, per-

haps just seconds after, President Truman announced Japan'ssurrender. That announcement appeared on the electric sign inTimes Square at 7:03 p.m. In 2010, however, Gloria Bullard,who identified herself in the background of the photo, gave anaccount of witnessing the kiss that placed the time closer to 6p.m. The 2012 book, The Kissing Sailor by Lawrence Verriaand George Galdorisi, place the time near 2 p.m.The Late Lunch: The 2 p.m. time cited is part of a timeline

based on the accounts of GeorgeMendonsa and Greta Zimmer,who are identified in the book as the kissing pair.According tothe book,Mendonsa attended Radio CityMusic Hall for a 1:05p.m. movie, which was interrupted when theater employees an-nounced the rumor of the impending Japanese surrender. Men-donsa rushed outside to Times Square, where he encountered

Zimmer for the kiss around 2 p.m. Zim-mer, a dental assistant, was on a late lunchbreak. Later, she canceled all other dentalappointments in anticipation of the cele-bration.Clocks and Shadows: Overlooked in

the background of the photo is the BondClothes clock. The minute hand of thisclock is clear, but the oblique angle of viewand the clock's unusually short hour handmakes a definitive reading of the time dif-ficult. The clock might show a time near4:50, 5:50, or 6:50 p.m. A prominentshadow falls across the Loew’s Buildingjust beyond the clock, however, and thisshadow could potentially give just as ac-curate a time reading as the clock. Every

tall building inManhattan acts as a sundial, its shadowmovingpredictably as the sun traverses the sky. In this case, the TexasState team studied hundreds of photographs andmaps from the1940s to identify the source of the shadow, considering theParamount Building, Hotel Lincoln and Times Building. Thebreakthrough came when a photograph of the Astor Hotel re-vealed a large sign shaped like an inverted L that advertised theAstor Roof garden. Calculations showed that only the AstorRoof sign could have cast the shadow, but to be certain, OlsonandDoescher built a scale model of the Times Square buildingswith a mirror to project the sun's rays. The location, size andshape of the shadow on the model exactly matched the shadowin Eisenstaedt's kiss photographs.Mistaken Identity? So who is the sailor?Who is the woman

in white? Despite the new understanding of the photograph,those questions remain up for debate. "The widely-acceptedscenario of The Kissing Sailor book, with Mendonsa kissingZimmer near 2 p.m., is ruled out by the astronomical analysis,”Olson said. “Zimmer’s account states that she was on her latelunch hour, starting at 1 p.m., and after the kiss the dentists toldher to cancel all appointments. That's not going to happen after6 p.m. Those details of her account are entirely inconsistent withthe sunlight and shadows which show that the kiss happened at5:51 p.m. If Mendonsa is the kissing sailor, he didn't go to the1:05 p.m. movie--he went to the 4:07 p.m. show.

“Astronomy alone can’t identify the participants, but weknow the precise moment of the photograph,” Olson said.“Some of the accounts are inconsistent with the astronomicalevidence, and we can rule out people based on the position ofthe sun. The shadows were key to unlocking some of the se-crets, and we know when the kiss happened and that gives usclues as to whom may or may not have been in the photo.Reprinted with Permission of Texas State University

Afternoon Shadows Shed New Light on “VJ Day” Kiss - 70 Years Later

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The Japanese at Guadalcanalby Richard Koone

Make a difference ... volunteerpacificwarmuseum.org or call

Stefanie Manee-Lebens, (830) 997-8600, ext.223

o help protect theflank of their Port

Moresby operation, theJapanese occupied the is-land of Tulagi in the south-ern Solomon Islands on 3May 1942. Tulagi was thecapi ta l of the Bri t ishSolomon Islands Protec-torate. They quickly estab-lished a naval refuelingstation, a communicationsstation, and a seaplane baseon Tulagi and the nearbyislets of Gavutu-Tanam-bogo In July 1942, theJapanese began construc-tion of an airfield across thesound on the island ofGuadalcanal.The failure of the Japanese to take Port Moresby and

their defeat at Midway had the effect of leaving their baseat Tulagi without effective protection from other Japanesebases. Tulagi was four hours flying time from Rabaul, thenearest large Japanese base. On 7 August 1942, 11,000U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal and 3,000 U.S.Marines landed on Tulagi and nearby islands. This wasthe beginning of the six month long campaign forGuadalcanal.

On 7 August 1942, the Japanese had approximately2570 construction troops from the 11th and 13th Con-struction Units on Guadalcanal working on the airfieldand support facilities along with 247 troops of the 81stGuard Unit and 3rd Kure Special Naval Landing Force(SNLF). On Tulagi, there were 350 troops of the 3rd KureSNLF and personnel from the YokohamaAir Group with7 Mavis Flying Boats and 8 Rufe Float Planes. OnGavutu-Tanambogo, there were 342 men from the Yoko-hama Air Group, 144 from the 14th Construction Unit,and 50 from the 3rd Kure SNLF.The first Japanese ground force sent to Guadalcanal to

recapture the airfield was the Ichiki Detachment whicharrived on 16 August. This was a battalion-sized forcebuilt around the 2nd Battalion of the 28th Infantry Regi-ment. They were destroyed a week later in the battlesalong the Tenaru River. Eventually, 33,600 Japanesetroops of the 17th Army and 3,100 SNLF troops wouldsee action on Guadalcanal. The Japanese Army troops

were mostly from the 2nd,18th, and 38th Infantry Divi-sions. By the end of 1942, theJapanese were extremely lowon supplies. Troops were onone third rations and werebeing pushed up the coast to-ward Cape Esperance. Afterdeciding to withdraw, theyfought a rearguard action andmanaged to evacuate 13,000men. The Japanese had lostapproximately 14,000 killedor missing in action, 9000dead from disease, and 1,000captured by U.S. forces.Japanese naval forces were

commanded by the 8th Fleetat Rabaul and the 4th Fleet atTruk. The Japanese Combined

Fleet (aircraft carriers and battleships) was based at Trukand provided ships for various actions. In two carrier bat-tles and five major surface engagements during the cam-paign for Guadalcanal, the Japanese lost fewer ships thanthe Allies, but were still defeated. Among the Japaneselosses were two battleships and a light aircraft carrier. TheJapanese, knowing the importance of Henderson Field,also used their battleships and heavy cruisers to bombardthat airfield. The other important contribution of the Im-perial Japanese Navy in the campaign was the use of fastdestroyers to move men and supplies to, and eventuallyevacuate survivors, from Guadalcanal. This force wasknown as the Tokyo Express.The Japanese NavalAir Service contributed most of the

aircraft to the fight for Guadalcanal. On the day theMarines landed, the Japanese Navy’s 25th Air Flotilla ofthe 11thAir Fleet had 39 fighters, 32 medium bombers, 16dive bombers, and 2 seaplanes at Rabaul and 15 seaplanesat Tulagi. Most of these aircraft were shot down in thefirst few weeks of the campaign. They were reinforced byadditional squadrons as the campaign progressed. Airunits from the Combined Fleet’s aircraft carriers Shokaku,Junyo, Shikaku, and Ryujo also fought in the campaignfrom both their carriers and land bases.

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Museum Stores: Bisson Speaks on Veterans’ Day

pacificwarmuseum.org

ith the changing of the seasons, the Museum’s giftshops have some new items which will carry you

into spring. Among them are adult thermal shirts, adultzip jackets, and adult hoodies. All are in assorted colorsand priced at $19.50 (member’s price) or $22.95 (retail).All come in sizes Small - 2X Large. Add $2 for 2XL.

Long Sleeve Thermal Shirt:Cardinal, Heather Denim

or Heather Plum

Adult Zip Jacket:Cardinal, Heather Blackor Heather Charcoal

Adult Zip Hoodie:Heather Denin,Heather Greenor Heather Plum

his year's speaker forthe Museum's Veterans'

Day commemorative eventwill be Brigadier General(Retired) James Bisson.General Bisson commandedat all levels from platoonthrough brigade, and his lastassignment was as the Assis-tant Division Commanderfor the 36th Infantry Divisionand concurrently as the Director of Mobilization, U.S.Army Forces Command. Highly decorated, he retired inApril 2005 after 35 years of service, including a year inVietnam as an infantryman with the 25th Infantry Divi-sion. In civilian life, he worked for the Texas Departmentof Transportation and is now a consultant for the defenseindustry. He now lives in Harper, Texas.Veterans’ Day on 11 November is always a very special

event at the Museum. We hope you will mark your cal-endars and join us.

General Michael Hagee (Ret), USMC, welcomedeveryone by saying that “this is a special day in a specialplace.” He pointed out that the U.S. military has a proudlegacy going back to Bunker Hill. It should also be re-membered that Generals and Admirals do not win wars -- they are won by the lower ranks who, when situationschange, figure out what to do.The keynote speaker wasTexas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, grandson ofPresident George H.W. Bush for whom the Museum’smain gallery is named. The younger Bush said that whilethe gallery carries his grandfather’s name, it tells the storyof how much all parts of American society did in fightingfor victory. He stressed that although his grandfather wasshot down and rescued, it should not be forgotten that thetwo who were flying with him were never found. They,too, along with thousands of others should be honored forstanding united in a common cause to combat tyranny.

Bush further commented that as Chairman of theTexas Land Board he is aware of the importance of pre-serving the stories of veterans. He urged all veterans tocontact the Veterans Land Board, VOICESOFVETER-ANS.ORG or 800-252-VETS to share their experiences.

End of WWII Continuation from Page 1:

PACIFIC COMBAT ZONE Continuation from Page 1:

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The last Living History re-enactmentsin the present facility will be

10-11 October 2015. They are expected to resume

in March 2017. Please watch future issues of the

newsletter or website for updates onrenovations and the dates for theresumption of the re-enactments.

Too OOrrddeerr AAppppaarreell aanndd tthhee BBooookkss ffeeaattuurreeddiinn tthhiiss iissssuuee:: CCaallll 883300 --999977--88660000,, xx225522

On-Line: nimitz-bookstore.comShipping and TX Taxes Extra



ave you ever seen museum artifacts and wanted totouch them? Well, here’s your chance! Objects

buried deep within the Museum’s collection storagerooms are ready to break free and strut their stuff.

On 8 October, from 1-3pm, the Curatorial Staff willbring out a few artifacts and documents for visitors to takea closer look. Stop by the Curator’s Cart in the BushGallery, put on some white gloves and get hands-on withhistory. You might even discover a new story or two.

Alert Today, Alive TomorrowLiving with the Atomic Bomb, 1945 - 1965

29 April - 11 August 2016**********

Norman Rockwell in the 1940s:A View of the American Homefront16 September 2016 - 13 January 2017

More information on these two exhibits will be avail-able in future newsletters and on the website.

n 12 December, the Nimitz Jr. Corps programwill focus on wartime Christmas. Students, be-

tween the ages of six and thirteen, are invited to jointhe Museum staff in making traditional WWII Christ-mas decorations and learning about how Christmaswas celebrated with wartime rationing in effect. The time is set for 11am. Space is limited, and reser-

vations are encouraged. The cost is $5 per student. Toparticipate, please contact Stefanie Manee-Lebens at(830) 997-8600, ext. 223, or [email protected].

he Museum’s Educational Department, under theleadership of Richard Koone, helps to educate stu-

dents in a variety of ways, including assisting them withtheir National History Day projects.

Connor Brown (shown “in uniform”) of Thorton,Texas, visited the Museum with his parents in August2014. He was so inspired by what he learned that he re-quested additional material from the Education Depart-ment and focused his history project on Admiral Nimitz.

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H O

Join Our Growing Genealogical Society:Sons & Daughters of WWII Veterans™™

Website: sons&daughtersofww2veterans.org

NEXT NEWSLETTER:Reporting on Annual Symposium

“In Stealth We Trust:Special Forces and their Origins in

WWII-Part Two”

with Summaries ofParticipants ' Presentations

Next Nimitz Jr. Corps Program:Celebrating Wartime Christmas

Curator’s Cart:Treasures from the Vault

Future Exhibits:

Inspiring Our Youth:



Our Partnership with the Texas Historical Commission:Working together by agreement as a state agency and a non-profitorganization, the THC and Admiral Nimitz Foundation formed anew public/private partnership created to preserve the historic re-sources of the National Museum of the Pacific War and guide theexpansion of the Museum. It is the only institution in the conti-nental United States dedicated exclusively to telling the story of thePacific Theater battles of World War II.

Nimitz News Dispatch StaffEditor: Lee Price ArellanoMembership Director: Marty KaderliPhotos: Fredericksburg Standard; Dudley Harris,Brandon VinyardPlease send comments or queries to:

The Admiral Nimitz Foundation328 E. Main St. • Fredericksburg, TX 78624

(830) 997-8600 • [email protected]

MOVING?New Address __________________________________

City/State/Zip __________________________________

Send to: The Admiral Nimitz Foundation328 E. Main St. • Fredericksburg, TX 78624or contact: [email protected]

Please paste mailing label here

“We Inspire Our Youth By Honoring Our Heroes”

Admiral Nimitz Foundation2015 Board of Directors

OfficersCase D. Fischer, Chairman

Robert B. Phelps, Vice ChairmanNancy L. Dreher, SecretaryRonald L. Woellhof, Treasurer

General Michael W. Hagee, USMC (Ret)President and Chief Executive Officer

DirectorsDavid Q. Bates, Jr.Kenneth L. BurengaJ. Coley ClarkJohn E. HarrisSteven K. HowellJohn C. Kerr

R. Bruce LaBoonRick Lottie

John L. Nau, IIIBruce Nichols

MajGen Angela Salinas, USMC (Ret)Greg Shrader

Sam Bell Steves, IICraig L. Symonds, Ph.D.Mary Ann TurbevilleRobert F. Wheless

Directors EmeritiJames AveryAnn Brey

John R. GoodwillieBarbara Schmidt Heinen

Bruce H.C. HillSteven K. Howell

LTG Neal T. (Tom) Jaco, USA (Ret)CAPT Thomas H. Murray, Jr., USNR (Ret)

Gordon E. SauerJohn Schrock, Sr.Roy E. Stroeher

William A. Wareing

Honorary TrusteesGeneral Billy J. Boles, USAF (Ret)The Honorable George H.W. Bush

U.S.Senator John CornynU.S. Senator Ted Cruz

The Honorable Gordon EnglandU.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (Ret)

Texas Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr.Woodrow F. (Woody) McCasland

Helen McDonaldNancy Brown NegleyJohn P. Schneider, M.D.George E. Seay, III

Mark Your Calendars forUpcoming Events in 2015-2016:Pacific Combat Living History Programs:

10-11 October: 11am & 2pm[Last Program Until Further Notice]

15 Sept-15 Oct: Hispanic Heritage Month8 October: Curator’s Cart

1-3pm - Bush Gallery17 October - 10 January 2017: Tom Lea Exhibit

Bush Gallery11 November: Veterans’ Day

Memorial Courtyard7 December: Pearl Harbor Commemoration

Memorial Courtyard12 December: Nimitz Jr. Corps Program24 February: Admiral Nimitz’s Birthday

29 April - 11 August -- Exhibit: Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow

Living with the Atomic Bomb, 1945-196516 September - 13 January 2017--Exhibit:

Norman Rockwell in the 1940s:A View of the Homefront


Battle Buddies Sporting Clay Shoot: Raising Funds and Awareness


Nimitz News DispatchThe Admiral Nimitz Foundation is a 501(c) 3 non-profitfoundation eligible for corporate matching grants. Foundationmembers may forward any forms for matching gift programswith their membership contributions.

The Admiral Nimitz Foundation328 E. Main St. • Fredericksburg, TX 78624

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

he first Battle Buddies Sporting Clay Shoot was a greatsuccess raising funds and awareness for the Admiral

Nimitz Foundation and the Veterans Assistance Dogs of Texas,a non-profit which rescues dogs with the capacity to becomecompanion dogs, and after training, assigns them to veterans withphysical and/or emotional injuries. Held August 22 at the Na-tional Shooting Complex in San Antonio, the event’s major spon-sors were Remington Outdoors, Elks USA, ConceptualMindWorks, Valero, Hometown Hero, Toyota and Dogologie.The winning team was Y Bar Ranch of Tilden, Texas, and thetop individuals were Jay Brown from the Y Bar team and KeithBanks from the Swaim Ranch team, who both shot 96 clays outof 100. Wounded warriors and representatives of Combat Ma-rine Outdoors, Operation Military Embrace, and Patriot WarriorFoundation were part of the field, along with Naval Intelligencepersonnel from Good Fellow Air Force Base. The next annualBattle Buddies will be held August 27, 2016.

Sign up at [email protected].

T

Members of the Kerrville Elks Lodge #2081participate in the inauguralBattle Buddies Classic.


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