Question: What famous Texan was the commander of the U.S. Pacific fleet during World War II?
Answer: Chester Nimitz. Born in Fredericksburg in 1885, he was appointed commander of the U.S. Pacific fleet shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. He oversaw the conversion of the U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet from gasoline to diesel propulsion, and he was instrumental in acquiring approval to build the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine. The nuclear-powered USS Nimitz aircraft carrier is named after him, and his grandfather’s hotel in Fredericksburg is now the National Museum of the Pacific War.
