The National Museum of the Pacific War, a Texas Historical Commission (THC) property operated by the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, hosted a grand reopening of the expanded museum Dec. 7.

The ceremony featured remarks from George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States, as an honored guest as well as the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James T. Conway.

The new 33,000-squarefoot George H.W. Bush Gallery is a comprehensive and engaging collection of the Pacific War Theater of World War II and is the only institution in the continental United States dedicated exclusively to telling this story.

Planned by the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, the facility will also house the Center for Pacific War Studies, a curatorial and research site for the museum’s collections. THC Commissioner Tom Alexander was deeply involved in the project, working with the museum and the foundation on the expansion.

The National Museum of the Pacific War is located on a six-acre site in Fredericksburg and includes the George H.W. Bush Gallery, Admiral Nimitz Museum, Plaza of Presidents, Veterans’ Walk of Honor and Memorial Wall, Japanese Garden of Peace, Pacific Combat Zone, and the Center for Pacific War Studies.