Another good war museum

One of my favorite London museums (of which I had many) is the Imperial War Museum.

Or, as I like to call it, the Peace Museum. Since its display of the details of 20th century wars is meticulous, but not laudatory, and the net effect of a visit is reinforced pacifism.

Last weekend we visited a nearby museum with a smaller focus—the National Museum of the Pacific War. But within its more limited scope, it's just as meticulous, just as well-designed and thought-out, just as respectful, and just as pacifism-reinforcing.

The quaint hill country town and shopping destination of Fredericksburg isn't the first place you might guess for the location of this fine museum. But it was the boyhood home of Admiral Chester Nimitz, who commanded the U.S. Pacific Fleet in World War II. And the current museum grew out of an earlier, smaller, enterprise that just showcased his life.

So this charming little town finds itself home to this world-class museum.

We had other activities planned for the gorgeous spring day in this area (read about them over at Hometown Tourist) and so were totally unprepared for how long we discovered we wanted to spend at the Museum. Its footprint is small, but it's so cleverly laid-out that its density means you'd need many, many hours to do its displays justice.

The main attractions of the place are these multitudinous displays, many interactive, its wonderful detailed maps, and its poignant artifacts. It was hard to take good pictures in the dim light of the galleries, but I had to snap this display, celebrating the Flying Tigers that my father-in-law served with:

But the museum also makes room for bigger exhibits, like this seaplane:


The grounds of the museum, connecting the older Nimitz family hotel (see picture at the bottom of the post) with the new expansion containing the main displays, is a lovely park-like area. The picture of Hal and Carey above, under one of its handsome trellises, and the memorial plaques shown below form parts of this peaceful area:

Only rarely since I've left London have I found a museum that I wanted to rank with any that I visited there. But here, in little Fredericksburg, I think I found one.

I was so taken with its innards, in fact, that I neglected to take a photo of the impressive Victorian Nimitz Hotel part of the complex. But fortunately Wikipedia Commons had one I could borrow:

I'm already planning a return trip!