Here is a picture I took today of my friend Bob Berry with a 1/48 Hasegawa N1K2-J George fighter. I bought the model but have been occupied with repair of hurricane damage and so had a friend build it. I mounted it in a wooden box to protect it; the PB4Y-2 Privateer I built for Bob years ago was destroyed by his cat.
Bob was a radio operator on board a VPB-109 Privateer that was one of two Privateers attacked by twelve George fighters of the 343 Kokutai on 17 May 1945. Bob's Privateer , Hogans' Goat, was shot up and had to shut down an engine but the two Navy bombers shot down two of the fighters and returned safely to home base on Okinawa.
I wrote an article on VPB-109's experiences that was published in the Nov 2002 Aviation History Magazine. Jack Fellows illustrated the article with some thrilling artwork.
Bob Berry will be 93 in May of this year. He survived a burst appendix last year.