Bernard Charles Pardun
PFC Bernard C. Pardun was a Marine aviator with VMTB-233.
He was shot down over Simpson Harbor, Rabaul, on 14 February 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 468686
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
February 1, 1925
at Clarion, IN
Parents
Ross Francis Pardun
Josephine Phoebe (Agard) Pardun
Education
Dowagiac High School (1942)
Occupation & Employer
Recent graduate
Service Life
Entered Service
October 22, 1942
at Indianapolis, IN
Home Of Record
Dowagiac, MI
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Josephine Pardun
Military Specialty
Aerial gunner
Primary Unit
VMTB-233
Campaigns Served
Northern Solomons
Individual Decorations
Air Medal
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
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Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On 14 February 1944, VMTB-233 ordered a mission to lay mines in Rabaul’s Simpson Harbor. Dropping a Mark 12 naval mine from an Avenger required slow speed and low altitude, so planners decided to send three separate waves at one-hour intervals under cover of darkness. Group C – which included pilot 1Lt. James W. Boyden, radioman PFC Arthur J. Patrickus, and turret gunner PFC Bernard C. Pardun in Plane #102 – departed Piva at 0230 for the ninety-minute flight to Rabaul.
Unfortunately for the attackers, Japanese spotlight crews were on the alert – and “very accurate in picking up the planes and keeping them in the light.” Anti-aircraft gunners were also primed and ready, having battled two previous waves of attackers. Group C was badly mauled with three Avengers, including Boyden’s #102 (TBF-1C 24264), failing to return to base. VMTB-233 lost a total of six Avengers and eighteen Marines on the disastrous mission.
The entire crew of #102 was declared dead on 15 February 1945. Sherman was awarded a posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross, while Cashman and Greene received Air Medals.
Burial Information or Disposition
In 1980, the wreck of an Avenger was discovered upside down in the water near the old Lakunai airfield. This plane was buried by volcanic ash in a 1994 eruption and subsequently rediscovered in 2007. Human remains were observed in the wreckage, and a Navy dive team led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) removed bones from the fuselage. Additional remains were recovered from the site in 2016.
On 3 March 2017, Lieutenant Boyden was officially identified and accounted for.
Patrickus and Pardun are still considered missing in action.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
The Pardun family farm was on a rural route outside of Dowagiac, Michigan.
Location Of Loss
Plane #102 was lost in the vicinity of Simpson Harbor, south of Rabaul.
