Buddy Tatsushi Hirasuna was born on September 23, 1920, in Acampo, San Joaquin County, California. He was the son of Tatsuji Hirasuna and Tamayo Hirasuna. He worked as an artist for an advertising company in Chicago before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944. He served in the United States Army with the 740th Tank Battalion in World War II. Known as the “Daredevil Tankers”, the 740th was a separate battalion that fought from Utah Beach all the way to the Baltic Sea in support of various divisions of the US war effort. He spent time in Germany and remained there for a period after the war.

After returning to the United States, Buddy went to art school in Los Angeles, continuing to develop his strong artistic talent. In 1953, he moved back to Fresno to help his brother Kikuo with their family grocery business due to Kikuo’s poor health. Known for his creativity, Buddy even designed the insignia for his Army unit, and outside of work, he was an avid fisherman. Buddy died of a heart attack on February 9, 1970, and is now buried in the Fresno Memorial Gardens, Fresno, Fresno County, California, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.familysearch.org