One degree of separation

I’m reading Gordon Prange’s Miracle at Midway, as preparation for the Battle of Midway Celebration I’m attending in less than two weeks.  Last year, when I went to the celebration, I knew the vague outlines of Midway (turning point in war, yada, yada, yada); this year, I wanted to know more.  It’s out of print, but if you can get hold of a copy it’s a readable and informative book.

One of the things I did not know when I started reading Miracle at Midway was the fact that Admiral Chester Nimitz was the Battle’s architect.  I have a silly connection to Admiral Nimitz.

When I was at college, I got a job as medical transcriptionist for two orthopedic surgeons.  I spent two very happy years doing part-time work in that office.  The typewriter I used (yes, young’uns, a typewriter) had hanging over it this picture of Nimitz accepting the Japanese surrender:

 

What made this picture different from other copies of the same photo was the fact that, written on it were the words:  “To Dr. XXX.  Thank you.  Chester Nimitz” (or something similar to that).  It turns out that one of the doctors for whom I worked had been Admiral Nimitz’s orthopedic surgeon in the years after the war.

And that’s my one degree of separation from the great Admiral Nimitz.