Oral History Interview with Taisuke Maruyama, September 29, 2000

Oral History Interview with Taisuke Maruyama, September 29, 2000

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Track One 1:07:22

Description

Transcript of an oral interview with Taisuke Maruyama. He was born in 1922. After finishing the sixth grade, Mr Maruyama took an exam for Navy pilot school and passed; he was 15 or 16 at the time. At that time, preparatory flight school (navy basic training) for the Navy was one and one half years. Once he completed this, Maruyama entered flight training, which lasted for one year. After flight training, he was ordered to the carrier Hiryu; to be a scouting member of the 97th torpedo plane, a Kate. He was not assigned as a pilot but as a … continued below

Physical Description

1 sound recording (1 hr., 7 min., 21 sec.)

Creation Information

Maruyama, Taisuke September 29, 2000.

Context

This audio recording is part of the collection entitled: National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection and was provided by the National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It has been viewed 16 times. More information about this recording can be viewed below.

Interviewee

Maruyama, Taisuke

Interviewers

Publisher

National Museum of the Pacific War
Place of Publication: Fredericksburg, Texas

Audiences

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Provided By

National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Established in 1967, the Museum honors the 8 million Americans who served in WWII in the Pacific Theater by sharing their stories with the world. Located in Fredericksburg in the restored Nimitz "Steamboat" Hotel, the Museum partners with the Texas Historical Commission to preserve the historical resources of the era.

Description

Transcript of an oral interview with Taisuke Maruyama. He was born in 1922. After finishing the sixth grade, Mr Maruyama took an exam for Navy pilot school and passed; he was 15 or 16 at the time. At that time, preparatory flight school (navy basic training) for the Navy was one and one half years. Once he completed this, Maruyama entered flight training, which lasted for one year. After flight training, he was ordered to the carrier Hiryu; to be a scouting member of the 97th torpedo plane, a Kate. He was not assigned as a pilot but as a scout. In July/August 1941, the Hiryu escorted the invasion fleet when the Japanese Army landed in French Indo-China. Mr Maruyama saw his first combat on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor; the first wave (183 planes). His target was the USS Oklahoma and he had the job of releasing the torpedo; it hit. He was 19 years old. After the attack, the carriers returned to their own harbors and the planes went to bases. Mr Maruyama states that either the pilot or the scout could be the leader on the plane. At Midway, he was still a scout but was the leader (telling the pilot where to go, where to turn). They first attacked Sand Island. Mr Maruyama talks about the Hiryu being attacked but they were not concentrated and made by less well-trained pilots; none damaging the Hiryu. He also talks about first loading torpedoes, then bombs, and then rearming with torpedoes; lots of confusion when they heard the news that there was an American Task Force in the area. He states that he attacked the Yorktown but thought it was a different carrier. Mr Maruyama discusses the two attack units (on the Yorktown) from the Hiryu and the aircraft that returned to the carrier. The interview ended there; evidently Mr Maruyama ran out of time.

Physical Description

1 sound recording (1 hr., 7 min., 21 sec.)

Subjects

Keywords

Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms

Library of Congress Subject Headings

World War, 1939-1945

University of North Texas Libraries Browse Structure

Language

English

Item Type

Sound

Identifier

Unique identifying numbers for this recording in the Portal or other systems.

Accession or Local Control No: OH00074
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1607404

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Taisuke Maruyama, September 29, 2000, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1603436

Collections

This recording is part of the following collections of related materials.

National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection

This oral history collection depicts an instrumental era in American history. In these transcripts of interviews with World War II veterans are personal experiences with the war, from the Doolittle Raid and D-Day to the Battle for Bataan.

National Museum of the Pacific War Digital Archive

The Digital Archive presents digitized collections from the Center for Pacific War Studies collections at the National Museum of the Pacific War. Collections and material are continuously being added and represent only a small portion of the archives' physical holdings.

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