As CinCPac (NavSpeak for “Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet”) for the United States and CinCPOA (“Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Area”) for the Allies, Chester William Nimitz is as responsible for the defeat of Imperial Japan as anyone. Growing up in Fredericksburg on the arid plains of central Texas, CWN looked to a military career to escape the drudgery and tedium. As a teenager (born in 1885 AD) he had sought to apply for admittance to West Point but there were no openings; so he took the entrance exam to the Naval Academy as consolation, with scores so outstanding he entered in 1901. Graduating from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, seventh in his class, he was assigned to the battleship USS 'Ohio' and actually met Admiral Tōgō when it visited Japan.

Nimitz’s early career was hardly remarkable, although he did become an expert in the new field of submarine warfare and even oversaw the construction of the sub base at Pearl Harbor in 1920. He also taught advanced courses at the Naval War College and evaluated cadet war games, where he admitted, “The enemy of our games was always Japan.” In 1929 he was appointed commander of the 20th SUBRON (“Submarine Squadron”) and 1933 took command of the heavy cruiser 'Augusta' in the Far East. A week after the debacle at Pearl Harbor, thanks to Nimitz’s familiarity with the Pacific and long-held view of Japan as America’s primary threat in the region, SecNav (“Secretary of the Navy”) Frank Knox gave him command of the Pacific Fleet. Soon after, the JCS (‘Joint Chiefs of Staff”) made him CinCPOA

With the victory in 1945, Nimitz was promoted to CNO (“Chief of Naval Operations”), the last surviving American fleet admiral. In 1947 he retired from active service. Nimitz died in 1966 and was buried with MFH (“Military Funeral Honors”) in California.