Page 22 June 2014 By Katie Mayer U.S. Air Force Capt. John Marusiak, Jr. had just finished bombarding a railroad yard and was getting ready to fly his P-47 Thunderbolt back to the base, when something in the sky caught his attention. Two puffs of white smoke emerged nearby. Then, two more appeared. Marusiak looked back from his single engine plane and saw an aircraft behind him. It was trying to shoot him down. The quick thinking fighter pilot scrambled to go after the enemy, but then he remembered – he was out of ammunition. “I couldn’t go after him,” Marusiak said. “I hit 500 miles an hour downhill getting away from him.” Marusiak made it back to the base safely that night. And fortunately, despite 105 WWII missions serving in the 512th Fighter Squadron, Marusiak made it home safely every time. Today, the 97-year-old veteran and entrepreneur lives near Arcadia, and in April, attended the Honor Flight Arizona trip to Washington D.C. with his daughter Carol Ann Marusiak. The Honor Flight Arizona trip provides a free three-day trip for WWII veterans to see the National World War II Memorial. Unfortunately, the memorial was only completed in 2004, so the majority of the 16 million veterans who served in the war, have not been able to visit. Marusiak was the oldest to ever attend from Arizona, Carol Ann said. “He is a fascinating man with a very interesting story that should be shared,” the proud daughter said of her father. 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Marusiak, originally from a small town south of Pittsburgh, said he made the decision to join the military on December 7, 1941 when he heard that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. It wasn’t long afterward that Marusiak boarded a coal-burning train and headed west to Santa Ana, California to take his physical and begin training. The U.S. Air Force, then called the U.S. Army Air Corps, assigned Marusiak to train at Thunderbird Field in Glendale which is currently home to the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He first learned to fly a twin engine biplane. From there, Marusiak went to several other bases to train, including fighter pilot training before being deployed to England. During his time in service, Marusiak flew fighter planes that often held 1,000 rounds of ammunition and two bombs. His missions were mostly focused on destroying enemy supply lines and airplanes on the ground. He flew all over France, Belgium and Germany. “When D-Day occurred, we had 45 airplanes at one time and flew over Normandy,” Marusiak said. “We were there to protect them from other airplanes bombing the troops, but it was a terrible time for the troops on the ground.” Marusiak remembers his time serving in WWII clearly despite how many decades have passed. He often smiles when he speaks about the P-51C Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt he flew, and especially loved the second one. He remembers sleeping in tiny tents, always staying on the move and enjoying fine French champagne for only 50 cents a bottle. And he also remembers the close calls. “One day when we came back from our missions, they told us not to land where we were planning to land, and they had us go to another place,” Marusiak said. “When we landed there, we learned that evening that the Germans came by and bombed our area, but we had already left and there was no one there.” Marusiak retired from the military in 1965 and then bought a home in Arcadia. After a while he “got tired sitting around golfing with old guys” and he and his wife Angeline founded the now Tempe-based business Micro-Tronics, Inc., a full service machine shop, which has grown to 140 employees and is now being operated by their children. Angeline, a businesswoman and pilot herself, died more than eight years ago. She and Marusiak first met dancing and Marusiak knew she would be the woman he’d marry. He wrote her letters throughout his time in the war. Together, the couple had five children and today there are 12 grandchildren and four great- grandchildren. Throughout the rest of Marusiak’s military career, he worked as a test pilot and flew parts for delivery across hazardous skies. He also patrolled the skies over the White House, was stationed in Okinawa Island and even worked at the Panama Canal Zone. He retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. On his 95th birthday, Marusiak flew the beloved P-47 Thunderbolt from Deer Valley to Casa Grande. Today, he still enjoys attending air shows, playing golf and bridge and reading all of the latest technology and military publications. “It amazes me all that he did and he is so humble,” Carol Ann said. For more information on Honor Flight Arizona or to donate to the program, visit www.honorflightaz.org. Veteran Captain John Marusiak Jr. flew the P-47 Thunderbolt for the U.S. Air Force in WWII and recently visited the monument with his daughter, Carol Ann.

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