Seth Kaller, Inc.

“In prosecuting their war against the Japanese it has become necessary for the armed forces of the United States under my command to occupy this and other islands of the Marshall Islands.

“It is the policy of the United States Forces not to make war upon the civilian inhabitants of these islands but to permit them to continue their normal lives and occupations in a peaceable manner, so far as war necessities and their own behavior permit.”

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz sets forth the details of the American occupation of the Marshall Islands, home to approximately 50,000 people, during the latter stage of World War II. The Japanese had occupied the Marshall Islands (five main islands, 29 coral atolls, and two chains of more than 1,200 very small islands) since World War I as part of the South Seas Mandate.

The U.S. raided Japanese installations as early as February 1, 1942. On January 31, 1944, as part of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, the U.S. launched Operation FLINTLOCK, until D-Day the largest amphibious assault of the war. By the autumn, the Americans controlled all but four atolls where Japanese troops soon began to run out of provisions, leading to starvation and disease. With air bases secured on the Marshall Islands, and continued occupation of the Marianas Islands, American bombers could now reach the Japanese home islands.

CHESTER W. NIMITZ. Typed Document Signed, Proclamation No. 1 to the People of the Marshall Islands, January 31, 1944, In parallel Japanese and English. 1 p., 15 x 13 in.

Inventory #28104       Price: $12,500

Additional Excerpts
“All powers of government and jurisdiction in the occupied territory and over the inhabitants therein, and final administrative responsibility, are vested in me as Admiral, United States Navy, Commanding the United States Forces of occupation, and Military Governor, and will be exercised through subordinate commanders by my direction.”

“Your existing personal and property rights will be respected and your existing laws and customs remain in force and effect, except to the extent that it is necessary for me in the exercise of my powers and duties to change them.”

“Until further notice, United States dollar currency, overprinted ‘Hawaii’ and United States coins will be legal tender in the occupied territory and all persons are warned against accepting or dealing in any other currency whatever, except as permitted under my orders.”

“So long as you remain peaceable and comply with the orders of the United States Forces of occupation, you will be subject to no greater interference than is made necessary by war conditions, and may go about your normal occupations without fear.”

Chester W. Nimitz (1885-1966) was born in Texas into a German family. He applied to West Point in hopes of becoming an Army officer, but no appointments were available, so he received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1905. Following his 1909 promotion to lieutenant, he commanded a series of submarines. During World War I, he served as aide and then chief of staff to the commander of the Atlantic Fleet submarine force. In 1933, he took command of the cruiser Augusta, which became the flagship of the Asiatic fleet. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Nimitz as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Promoted to admiral, he soon became commander-in-chief with operational control over all Allied air, land, and sea units in the Pacific Ocean area. After turning back Japanese advances at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway in 1942, allied forces successfully fought Japanese forces in the Guadalcanal Campaign of August 1942 to February 1943.

In December 1944, an act of Congress established the rank of fleet admiral, the highest in the Navy, and FDR promoted Nimitz to that rank. In January 1945, Nimitz moved the headquarters of his Fleet forward from Pearl Harbor to Guam for the remainder of the war. In 1945, amphibious assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa allowed his carriers to raid the Japanese home waters. Following the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945, with Nimitz signing as representative of the United States on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

Condition: Fine. Professionally conservation treated; report on request.

Provenance: Collection of Ambassador J. William Middendorf II