WWII saw the rise of a number of great leaders, including Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz,
Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet from June of 1944 until the war's end.
He spearheaded decisive battles and operations against Japan from successful attacks on Japanese-controlled
islands in the Philippine Sea to the devastating Operation Starvation, which mined Japan's
major ports and straits causing a severe disruption of Japanese logistics. And on the 2nd of September,
1945, he accepted Japan's formal surrender on board the USS Missouri.
But his interaction with the Japanese extended far beyond the sorrows of war. On his very
first assignment as a midshipman in 1905, Nimitz sailed to Japan on the Battleship Ohio,
where through a series of coincidences, alongside his fellow midshipmen, he found himself at
a garden party held by the emperor of Japan in honor of the Japanese army and navy commanders
responsible for winning the Russo-Japanese war, which had just ended. Chief among those
honored was Marshal-Admiral Marquis Togo Heihachiro, the Japanese naval hero responsible for the
landslide victory against the Russians in the Battle of Tsushima. Through another series
of coincidences (they were late and seated near the exit), the midshipmen from Ohio had
a perfect view of Togo as he made his leave at the end of the party. Emboldened by a fair
amount of wine, Nimitz intercepted Togo with an invitation to their table, which was cordially
accepted. They chatted in English, a language Togo was fluent in after having studied in
England. That meeting made a deep impression on Nimitz, who would come to greatly respect
and admire the Japanese hero.
That was the only time they ever met each other alive, because their next, and final,
meeting was at Togo's funeral on June 5, 1934. At this point Nimitz was captain of his own
ship, the cruiser Augusta. He had studied Togo's strategies deeply, and even considered
himself a disciple of the admiral. He would continue to rise to the highest historical
rank the navy has to offer--the Fleet Admiral.
After WWII, Nimitz learned of the deterioration of the battleship Mikasa, which had been Togo's
flagship during the Russo-Japanese war. In 1926 it was opened as a memorial ship, but
in the time since it had been encased in concrete, partially deconstructed, and roofed over for
use as a dance hall. Nimitz wrote an article for the magazine Bungei Shinju calling for
a united effort to restore the ship, and also donating the 20,000 yen (which was worth $56
at that time) he received for the article to the restoration fund. In 1961 it was reopened
to the public as a memorial once again in Yokosuka, Japan. Nimitz passed away in 1966.
As a thanks for his effort, and a representation of friendship with America, in 1976 The Japan
Coordinating Committee, comprised of a number of retired Japanese admirals and officials,
along with private donations from thousands of Japanese, worked together to give a gift
in return to the memory of Nimitz. That gift is here in Fredericksburg, Texas, at the National Museum
of the Pacific War, which is remodeled from the Nimitz family's historic hotel.
The Japan Coordinating Committee sent craftsmen from Japan to build a replica of Togo's personal
garden and study, which we can now visit as the Garden of Peace. Unfortunately it looks
like I came when it was under construction, so none of the water isn't running, which
would make it really beautiful. The study, a 1 x 1 replica of Togo's, was built in Japan,
disassembled, shipped here, and then rebuilt by the same carpenters who made it in Japan.
The message left to us reads, "The Garden of Peace is a gift to the people of the United
States from the people of Japan with prayers for everlasting world peace through the goodwill
of our two nations, symbolized by the friendship and respect that existed between Admiral Togo
and Admiral Nimitz."