"NIMITZ?
?? "Where is Task Force 34? The world wonders?"
Doggie, not sure exactly what you mean by that...
Do you know the story behind that message?
"but still, how can one be a great military commander with a funny name like Nimitz?"
I'm sure the Carthenigians thought Publius Cornelius Scipio was a funny name, too. Until he wiped Carthage and its army pretty much off the face of the map.
Here's the SINGLE best reason why Nimitz should be considered great, fistful...
The Battle of Midway.
Despite King's insistence that American carriers should not be committed beyond Hawaii because of the Naval Staff's insistence that the Japanese were going to strike at either Hawaii or the West Coast, Nimitz rejected that assessment, choosing to believe his subordinates and the information that they had compiled.
Armed with that information, Nimitz acted decisively and sent American carriers to wait for the Japanese at Midway, and then he let his commanders in the field handle the battle.
A single decision, based on intelligence and a gut feeling, and Nimitz put into motion what is perhaps the single most important Naval victory every won by the United States.