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.