Aviator in his flight suit.

Kate in flight

Maruyama stands next to the Oklahoma Memorial.

TAISUKE MARUYAMA

MAKAIMA B5N2 "KATE"

Print By Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette 
Limited Edition Print
12" X 18"
Price: $75.00

Pearl Harbor Veteran

Limited Edition prints are signed and numbered by the artist and signed by the aviator.  Also available in Open Edition prints which are signed by the artist for $30.00

Maruyama was born November 11, 1922.  He wanted to join the Imperial Japanese Navy to improve his education.  Maruyama joined the Navy at age 16 and was assigned to the Yokosuka Naval Air Base.  The 19-year old cadet later completed his flying courses on March 25, 1941.

Maruyama's first assignment was onboard the carrier Hiryu as a "Kate" torpedo bomber crewman.  To this day, he remembers the strenuous training that was done to prepare him and his comrades for the big Pearl Harbor attack that would start the war with America.  During his training, the naval aviators did two things to prepare for the attack.  First, they did low altitude torpedo attack training above Kinko Bay, which was nearby the island of Kyushu.  Second, the aviators also did nighttime torpedo attack training above the Bungo Channel, located between the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku.  During the infamous attack, he claimed a hit on the battleship Oklahoma, which subsequently capsized.

In January 1942, while still assigned to Hiryu, the young aviator bombed Port Darwin, Australia.  Compared to the Pearl Harbor mission, this mission was much easier because the Japanese faced very little opposition. The final results of the attack were 11 enemy ships sunk, over 20 enemy aircraft destroyed and the installations severely damaged.  Maruyama also participated in the strike against the island of Ceylon later that same year.

The Battle of Midway was the turning point in the war for the Japanese.  Admiral Yamamoto pledged to destroy the American carrier force by surprising them nearby the island of Midway.  During the beginning of the battle, he was one of the airmen to attack the island.  Unfortunately for the Japanese, later that same day, the Americans destroyed three of their carriers, Akagi, Soryu and Kaga.  Maruyama was onboard the last surviving carrier Hiryu.  The surviving airmen decided to make a last-ditch attack on the American carrier Yorktown.  During the attack, Maruyama's plane was hit by enemy fire, and white fog began to leak from the fuel tank.  Luckily for him, it did not catch fire and he dropped his torpedo on the enemy carrier.  As the young aviator passed the deck of the carrier, Maruyama could see the faces of the American sailors on the ship.  After completing his attack on the Yorktown, he returned back to his ship Hiryu.  Later during the battle, Hiryu also was later hit by American dive-bombers and sank.  Maruyama miraculously jumped off the burning ship and survived.

While stationed on the carrier Hiyo, he bombed the island of Guadalcanal on October 17, 1942.  Maruyama later transferred to the carrier Junyo and he torpedoed the U.S.S. Hornet on October 26, 1942 during the Battle of Santa Cruz. As the tide of the war began to turn, Maruyama continued to fly missions against the enemy.  Luckily for him, he always managed to beat the odds and return home unscathed.  On December 26, 1944, the experienced aviator bombed the American airfields on the island of Saipan, which was a large base for the B-29 Superfortress bombers.

Towards the end of the war, he made several torpedo attacks against the United States Fleet off the coast of Okinawa.  Throughout the war Maruyama participated in several dangerous missions, but he was fortunate and managed to survive the conflict.

In his post-war years, he managed a timber company and raised his family.  Maruyama also participated in several WW II documentaries and a Midway Symposium at the United States Navy Museum in Pensacola, Florida.

Shipping cost:  $5.00

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Limited Edition Prints - $75.00

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