Early on Thursday, 3 August--Day Two of the International Plastic Modelers' Society/USA (IPMS/USA) National Convention--I woke up early at my rental room in San Marcos, Texas. After getting dressed, I drove to a Panera Bread near the Embassy Suites and San Marcos Conference Center to get some breakfast. Then, I headed to the Embassy Suites, where a chartered bus awaited some 40 Convention attendees--myself included. The bus left just after 8:00 AM and headed to Fredericksburg, Texas, approximately 90 minutes away through the Texas Hill Country.
The bus arrived at its destination, the National Museum of the Pacific War (NMPW), where our group was to tour. This museum preserves the history of World War II in East Asia and the Pacific. The NMPW is located in Fredericksburg because that was the hometown of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was commander-in-chief of the US Pacific Fleet during World War II.
We began the tour with a short video presentation giving an overview of the Pacific War. After that, we began to make our way through the museum, which houses many interpretive exhibits, artifacts, and videos related to the roots of the war and its beginning in East Asia.
One exhibit of note is HA-19, one of five Japanese two-man submarines used in the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. This submarine was captured intact and was later displayed around the country to raise war bonds.
This museum means a lot to me, since both my father and maternal grandfather served in the US Armed Forces in the Pacific Theater of World War II. My father Harold Delaney was in the Army Air Forces as a radio technician in New Guinea, while my grandfather Harold Koenig was in the Navy on the crew of an escort aircraft carrier in the Southwest Pacific.
Exhibits look at both the war's campaigns and at the home front. Maps help visitors follow the course of the war, along with such artifacts as newspapers and magazines, uniforms, weapons, and personal effects of the troops fighting in the Pacific.
From Pearl Harbor to the Japanese surrender on 2 September 1945, one gets a sense of what World War II in East Asia and the Pacific was like, certainly to a primarily American audience.
After touring the inside of the museum and shopping in the gift shop, we walked outside to see various exhibits. There was a submarine conning tower in front of the museum, and several artillery pieces nearby. The US Presidents who served in the war--from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George H.W. Bush--were recognized in the outdoor area, and there are plaques commemorating individual service personnel, ships, and units involved in the war against Japan.
There is also a Japanese Peace Garden donated to the museum in 1976. It was most serene to walk on the grounds of this garden and to pray for peace among all peoples.
Near the NMPW, along Fredericksburg's main street, is the Admiral Nimitz Gallery. I did not go inside, due to lack of time, but it tells the story of German migration to Texas and to the Nimitz family. This gallery is housed in what was a hotel that Admiral Nimitz's grandfather had run in the mid to late 19th century. A bronze statue of Admiral Nimitz is located near this gallery.
Around 3:15 PM, our group reboarded the bus for the trip back to San Marcos. It waa wonderful experience visiting the museum for the first time. I highly recommend visiting the National Museum of the Pacific War.
Arriving back at the Embassy Suites around 4:45 PM, I went into the Conference Center to check the drawn raffle ticket numbers. (Mine didn't come up.) I also saw more model entries in the contest room and browsed among the vendors. I headed to the lounge where I had a beer and shared some snacks with some members of the IPMS/Plastic Surgeons chapter from Des Moines, Iowa who were at the Convention.
Following this happy hour, I got dinner and then headed back to the rental home to rest up and prepare for Day Three of the Convention.
To be continued...
Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:
International Plastic Modelers' Society/USA: IPMS/USA Home Page | By Modelers... For Modelers (ipmsusa.org)
Panera Bread: Panera Bread at , MO | Panera Bread
Embassy Suites and San Marcos Conference Center: Embassy Suites by Hilton San Marcos Hotel Conference Center
National Museum of the Pacific War: National Museum of the Pacific War (pacificwarmuseum.org)
Fredericksburg, Texas: Things to do in Fredericksburg, Texas | Attractions & Nightlife (visitfredericksburgtx.com)
IPMS/Plastic Surgeons: IPMS Plastic Surgeons (ipms-plasticsurgeons.com)
