Tsuneshi Maruo

He grew up in Moanalua Gardens on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. As a young teenager he learned to box. When WWII started he was a 10th grader at Farrington High School. He volunteered int the Army as a high school senior, and joined the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team whose slogan was “Go For Broke”. In basic training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, he was assigned to the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, Charlie “C” company and learned to fire the big guns. In 1946, he was honorably discharged, whereupon he resumed his amateur boxing career. As a bantamweight fighter at 118 pounds, he won the Oahu and Territorial championship title. He went on to win the National Amateur Athletic Union bantamweight championship title at Boston Gardens. He boxed professionally for the next three years.

Tsuneshi married Margaret Nikaido, his wife of 50 years. They had two daughters, Susan and JoAnne. As a working man he held many jobs over the years. WWII Army veteran, amateur and professional boxer, crane hoist operator, licensed barber, airport firefighter for the state of Hawaii, and then as a supervisor of airport fueling operations for Lockheed before retiring in 1987. In retirement he travelled to revisit battlefields in France, Italy, and Germany, vacationed in Japan, enjoyed snorkeling, spearfishing and scuba diving, remained active in veteran and boxing clubs, regularly donated blood, honed his barber skills, and always loved the company of his friends and family.

Tsuneshi is survived by his daughters, Susan Ota and JoAnne Tom, their husbands, Darrell Ota and Alan Tom, his grand daughter, Lauren Tom and her husband, Tiger Hoshi-Nagamoto, and his great-grandson, Maverick Maruo Hoshi.

Tsuneshi is laid to rest at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific Punchbowl, along side his wife Margaret.

We bid you our fondest Aloha.