Post by RavenHawk on Jan 6, 2012 9:55:44 GMT -8
I want to share with you a little gem that I stumbled across. Over the holidays we took a road trip that took us places like the USS Alabama, Chalmette Plantation, and The Alamo. But I heard about the National Museum of the Pacific War in of all places, Fredericksburg, TX. As you can see from the included diagram, what I thought was going to be the [only] Pièce de Résistance turned out to be much much more. This is a museum of museums. It is A “David”. It has displays, artifacts, and interactive presentations that meld the visitor into the history. It is something that I think veterans would appreciate, military historians will be awed, and the novice left speechless. The significance of this place brings tears to the eyes. Fredericksburg, for those not yet aware, is the hometown of Admiral Nimitz and houses the George H W Bush Gallery and many other attractions. I only had about an hour to browse the gallery. You need several hours to properly experience this shrine. Fredericksburg is also part of Texas’ “Napa Valley”. It is the 2nd largest wine producing region in the nation. It is nestled in the Texas hill country and includes wild animal preserves with antelope and others. Stonewall, the birthplace of LBJ is about 16 miles east on 290. Austin and San Antonio are only an hour away.
The [only] Pièce de Résistance as I called it was the Japanese midget sub that was captured after Pearl Harbor. They did a very nice job restoring it and creating an exciting display for it. But you can walk up to it and touch it while you walk its entire length. Of all the mighty Imperial Japanese Navy, I believe this is the only vessel that remains pretty much intact. Part of the side is cut out to expose the crew compartment.
www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/japan/japtp-ss/mdg-a-2.htm
This is a must see and is among this nations’ greatest hidden gems. Drop what you are doing, don’t walk but run to see this treasure. And pay tribute to the fallen and those who serve.
i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd326/cwnmia/nmpw1-1.jpg
i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd326/cwnmia/NMPW2-1.jpg
I did not have the time to stop by the USS Texas/San Jacinto Monument, but all these sites are accessible from I10 and it would probably need at least a week to see everything.
The [only] Pièce de Résistance as I called it was the Japanese midget sub that was captured after Pearl Harbor. They did a very nice job restoring it and creating an exciting display for it. But you can walk up to it and touch it while you walk its entire length. Of all the mighty Imperial Japanese Navy, I believe this is the only vessel that remains pretty much intact. Part of the side is cut out to expose the crew compartment.
www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/japan/japtp-ss/mdg-a-2.htm
This is a must see and is among this nations’ greatest hidden gems. Drop what you are doing, don’t walk but run to see this treasure. And pay tribute to the fallen and those who serve.
i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd326/cwnmia/nmpw1-1.jpg
i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd326/cwnmia/NMPW2-1.jpg
I did not have the time to stop by the USS Texas/San Jacinto Monument, but all these sites are accessible from I10 and it would probably need at least a week to see everything.
