For the first time, this volume presents all of the surviving World War II correspondence that Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz wrote to his wife, Catherine. In Best Beloved: The Wartime Letters of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to his Wife, Catherine, Nimitz relates in his own words his feelings as he prepared to assume command of the devastated US Pacific Fleet in December 1941, his fears about the possibility of being relieved during the war’s darkest days in 1942, and his nervous excitement as he signed the surrender document that ended the most destructive war of the twentieth century. Admiral Samuel J. Paparo Jr., commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, provides a trenchant foreword to this collection.
| Published: | May 13, 2026 |
Naval History and Heritage Command Publications Unit Association: Naval History and Heritage Command
