The Admiral Nimitz Foundation & National Museum of the Pacific War Dedicates Exhibit to San Antonio Native

Fredericksburg, Texas - The Admiral Nimitz Foundation is pleased to announce the dedication of a plaque sponsoring the Combat Information Center (CIC) exhibit at the National Museum of the Pacific War by Mr. Carl Duncan of San Antonio.  Mr. Duncan is a long-time supporter of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation.

Immediately after high school Mr. Duncan joined the Navy to fulfill his dream of flying off the decks of aircraft carriers during the World War II.  However, the war was winding down, and he was sent to Columbia University Midshipman's School where he was commissioned as an ensign and assigned to the USS Cotten headed for the Peace Ceremony in Tokyo Bay.  After the war, he finished college at the University of Tulsa and again served in the Navy in the Korean conflict.  In 1957 Mr. Duncan moved to San Antonio and joined Julius Stein as an associate installing and administering Employee Benefit Plans for local corporations.  His long and successful career as an actuary ended in 1990.  In retirement, Mr. Duncan has visited over 130 countries on all 7 continents.

Mr. Duncan has established a Charitable Gift Annuity at the San Antonio Area Foundation for the benefit of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, which supports and manages the National Museum of the Pacific War.  He was recently honored by the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning with its Charitable Legacy Gift Award for this contribution.   Mr. Duncan commented, “I could never forget my roots as a Naval Officer at the start of my adult life and the lessons learned will last forever.  I feel privileged to have served under Admiral Chester Nimitz, who proved to be the right man at the right time and continue to support his legacy at the Admiral Nimitz Foundation and the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.”

The importance of donors, such as Mr. Duncan, who identify a familiar cause and step forward to support it for the benefit of future generation, is being recognized by the Admiral Nimitz Foundation with the naming of the Combat Information Center exhibit in his honor.

CIC rooms were first installed in 1942 when radar was installed on U.S Navy Warships.
The National Museum of the Pacific War CIC is located in the Okinawa section of the George H.W Bush Gallery.  The exhibit recreates the CIC of the USS Hugh W. Hadley, DD-774.  The Hadley is known as the Champion Kamikaze Killer.  Kamikaze bombers attacked the Hadley on May 11, 1945 and knocked her out of commission. However, she destroyed 23 kamikazes during the attack.

Capt. Douglas G. Aitken, USN (Ret) of Danville, CA   who was on the USS.  Hadley in the CIC when she was attacked was in attendance at the dedication. Capt. Aitken talked about his time on the destroyer and about that frightful day she was attacked.  The CIC had no windows and was kept dark with only red lights and light from the equipment illuminating it. Capt. Aitken said, “It was madness, 23 kamikazes in less than two hours.”  After the attack the Hadley never sailed under its own power again. “It took three days less than two months to tow us from Okinawa to San Francisco” according to the Okinawa Veteran. Capt. Aitken was very impressed with the detail of the exhibit and the work that the Admiral Nimitz Foundation and the National Museum of the Pacific War have done to preserve the story of the war in the Pacific.

The Admiral Nimitz Foundation supports and manages the National Museum of the Pacific War which is a Texas Historical Commission property. For more information on the National Museum of the Pacific War and the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, please visit www.pacificwarmuseum.org.