Kerrville Daily Times

The National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg will celebrate a groundbreaking ceremony for its new, 40,000-square-foot expansion at 11 a.m. Friday.

Gov. Rick Perry will be on hand as the keynote speaker, and master of ceremonies will be retired Gen. Michael Hagee. John Nau, chairman of the Texas Historical Commission; State Rep. Harvey Hilderbran; and John Kerr, president of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, also will speak.

The groundbreaking will be followed by a celebratory Texas barbecue at noon.

“The new expansion will be added directly to the back of the George H.W. Bush Gallery,” said director of marketing and public relations Dolores Young. “It will tell the story of the Pacific War, from Pearl Harbor to the end. Also included in the expansion will be a center for Pacific War studies, artifacts that are in storage due to lack of space and a place for a vintage Japanese airplane, the Aichi Val dive-bomber.”

The $15 million for the expansion came from public and private donations.

“The state gave us $9 million for the project, and the Admiral Nimitz Foundation contributed $6 million from private donations,” said Rob Esterlein, development director for the museum.

Organizers expect more than 1,000 people to attend the free groundbreaking ceremony.

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