World War II Honoree

Bernard Charles Pardun

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Dowagiac, Michigan

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private First Class. On October 22, 1942, he was inducted into the United States Marine Corps from Michigan. His boot camp training took place with the First Recruit Battalion, Training Regiment; Marine Corps Base in San Diego, California. After the completion of boot camp, he was accepted into the Flight Aviation Training program. Served as a Grumman TBF Avenger Torpedo Bomber Gunner in the Southwestern Pacific Theater of Operations, Solomon Islands. His unit was based at Henderson Airfield on Guadalcanal, assigned to the Marine VMTB-233 ‘Bulldogs’ Squadron, Marine Air Group-11 and First Marine Air Wing. Reported missing in action, lost at sea Monday, February, 1944 when his group was dispatched for a night-time combat mission dropping aerial parachute mines into Simpson harbor on the island of Rabaul. While approaching the target all Avengers, carrying a crew of three encountered Imperial Japanese armed forces searchlights and intense anti-aircraft ground fire. This Marine aviator’s bomber was last seen going down and crashing into Simpson Harbor. His name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at the American Cemetery in Manila, Philippine Islands. Later his missing in action status was amended to read killed in action April 15, 1945. He received the following decorations posthumously: Air Medal and the Purple Heart. Air Medal awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. This American patriot was awarded the Purple Heart, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.