Summary and Key Points: “It is the function of the Navy to carry the war to the enemy so that it is not fought on U.S. soil.” Chester W. Nimitz is universally credited with that sentence, and no one has ever established when or where he said it. What is documented is the career behind it. Nimitz was born in Fredericksburg, Texas, in 1885, wanted an appointment to West Point, took Annapolis instead at the age of sixteen without having finished high school, and graduated in 1905. In his first command, an aging destroyer called USS Decatur, he ran aground — and was court-martialed for it. The reviewing admiral wrote that this was a good officer who would take more care in the future. Thirty-five years later, with the Pacific Fleet burning at Pearl Harbor, Franklin Roosevelt passed over 28 flag officers senior to Nimitz and gave him the command.
Chester Nimitz: A US Navy Admiral Who Deserves His Page in the History Books
Military Quote of the Day: “It is the function of the Navy to carry the war to the enemy so that it is not fought on U.S. soil.”- Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
Did you ever wonder why the National Museum of the Pacific War is located in Fredericksburg, Texas?
According to that museum’s website, it’s because Fredericksburg’s the hometown of Chester Nimitz, the naval admiral who led the Combined U.S. Force to victory in the Pacific during that war.
According to the museum, Nimitz insisted that it honor “all the everyday people who served with him in WWII,” rather than just himself.
Born in 1885 to a widowed mother, Nimitz grew up in Fredericksburg and hoped for an appointment to West Point, according to the museum’s biography.
He ended up going to Annapolis instead, entering in 1901 at age 16 despite not having graduated from high school.
He graduated in 1905 and, as an ensign the next year, received his first command of an “old destroyer” called the USS Decatur. While he ran it aground and was court-martialed, the biography said, the admiral who signed it said: “This is a good officer and will take more care in the future.”
Soon after, Nimitz received his first medal, the Silver Life Saving Medal, for “leaping overboard to rescue a drowning seaman while commanding the USS SKIPJACK, one of the Navy’s earliest submarines.”
Chester Nimitz Navy Admiral. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
But Nimitz’s legend was really made during World War II.
Nimitz in the Pacific
When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Nimitz served as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, and after the attack, President Roosevelt appointed him to take command, passing over 28 flag officers senior to him.
The president reportedly told Nimitz to “get the hell out to Pearl Harbor and don’t come back until the war is won.” He was appointed admiral on December 31, 1941, less than a month after the attack.
He proved the right choice.
“As Commander-in-Chief, Pacific, Admiral Nimitz proved to be the right man for the job. With his thoughtful leadership style, he restored morale to a shattered Pacific Fleet,” the National Museum of the Pacific War bio said.
He built an aggressive team and boldly made the right moves in the Battle of Midway, which turned the tide of the war in the Pacific in favor of the U.S.”
The bio also describes Nimitz as a “congenial and accessible leader,” loved by his men. He didn’t forget his Texas roots; in 1944, he hosted an “Old Texas Roundup” in Hawaii for the 40,000 personnel from the Lone Star State stationed in the Pacific.
“Leadership consists of picking good men and helping them do their best.” Nimitz once said, according to a PBS biography. “Some of the best advice I’ve had comes from junior officers and enlisted men.”
Nimitz was promoted throughout the war and was appointed fleet admiral in 1944. When Japan surrendered aboard the USS Missouri, Nimitz signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.
After the war, Nimitz returned to Texas, where he was honored with parades and even finally received that high school diploma.
In 1966, the museum bio said Nimitz died at his home in California and chose to be buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery with his men, rather than at Arlington National Cemetery.
Nimitz was the last living fleet admiral in the U.S. Navy.
A Carrier’s Namesake
The USS Nimitz and the other Nimitz-class aircraft carriers are named for the late admiral. The first ship was laid down in 1968, two years after Nimitz passed away.
MANCHESTER, Wash. (April 28, 2017) USS Nimitz (CVN 68) transits Puget Sound, past the Seattle skyline enroute to its homeport, Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton. The return to homeport marks the end of an underway along with its Carrier Strike Group 11, having successfully completed its final pre-deployment assessment, Composite Training Unit Exercise, April 21, and is now fully certified to deploy later this year. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Vaughan Dill/Released
Nimitz, the bio said, “left behind a legacy of leadership characterized by determination, optimism, resourcefulness, decisiveness, and most of all, humility. It’s a legacy that has inspired many around the world.”
The Quote
“It is the function of the Navy to carry the war to the enemy so that it is not fought on U.S. soil” was Nimitz’s most famous and widely attributed quote, and it seems to capture his naval philosophy.
There’s no doubt that Nimitz said this, as most biographies, both online and in book form, attribute it to him. However, it’s not clear exactly when or where he said it. One opinion piece said he said it “after the war.”
About the author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
