Here is the bio. of a good friend of mine. We would like to have someone pick up the story and do an article. I may have posted this before.
Pete Gus Konduros was born in Anderson, South Carolina on April 27th, 1922. He was a student at Clemson University in South Carolina when Pearl Harbor was attacked. As an ROTC cadet at Clemson he was encouraged to remain in the ROTC program and to continue his coursework. In 1943, during his junior year, he was inducted into the Army as an infantryman. Through sheer luck and determination Pete managed to get transferred into the US Army Air Corp where he was trained as a bombardier in B-24’s. Pete was assigned to the 394th Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group, 13th Air Force and was shipped off to fight in the Pacific Theatre in mid-1945. Pete had several brushes with death during his training and also while flying over ninety hours of combat during nine missions over enemy held territory. Pete was nearly shot down in an earlier mission but it was the events that transpired while flying his 9th mission that would change his life forever. It was during this 9th mission that Pete Konduros was quite literally blown out of his bomber when a flight of B-24’s on the same bombing run inadvertently dropped their ordinance into Pete’s bomber formation flying below. The results were catastrophic. Two 1000 lbs. bombs with 0.10 second delayed fuses ripped through Pete’s B-24, exploded directly beneath it and, in an instant, Pete found himself in the forward section of the nose of the B-24. The rest of the plane was vaporized.
(before and after pics, I have hi-res. if you want) Nothing remained of Pete’s B-24 except for the small section of the nose which he found himself in. Immediately Pete realized that he didn’t have his parachute on and his movement was limited by the centrifugal forces that were being generated as the nose section of his B-24 twirled and tumbled towards the Pacific Ocean below.
In what Pete describes as a miracle, he managed to get his flak vest off, his parachute on and, during the last precious moments before the nose section of the B-24 he was trapped in crashed into the ocean, he was able to get out and pull the ripcord. Pete was the lone survivor. All nine of his fellow crew members perished. He survived the explosion but he was not out of trouble yet. Still stunned from his ordeal, he bobbed in the water just offshore of Zamboanga, Mindanao in the Philippines. From his vantage point he could see, hear and feel the bombs from his flight of B-24’s exploding on a Japanese held airfield that was being targeted. He was just a few hundred yards away from the action and it didn’t take long for Pete to realize that by staying there he risked being a casualty of his own exploding bombs. Also, to be taken prisoner by the Japanese may have resulted in death. He decided to swim away from the shoreline and distance himself from the maelstrom. Pete swam through the wreckage of his own plane, he swam through the bodies of his fallen comrades and when he felt he was far enough away from the shoreline, he stopped and waited to be rescued…he hoped. Pete was fortunate enough to be spotted by a seaplane from the USS Phoenix. Under covering fire from US Navy Corsairs, the seaplane rescued him and transported him back to the ship where he spent several days resting and recuperating.
Pete was delivered back to his base on Bougainville but, by then, the war in the Pacific was winding down and Pete was released from active duty in the US Army Air Corp on October 28th, 1945. After the war Pete went back to school, finished getting his degree and moved to Houston to work as a stock broker and started a family. Over time, photos of Pete’s rescue and, amazingly, his B-24 being destroyed by friendly fire were made available to him. They stand in mute testament to the 9th mission the Pete survived over sixty years ago.
Here is the actual combat report:
"Today our formation struck a building area southwest of Zamboanga Town, Mindanao. Several seconds after the bombs hit the target a formation of three (3) as yet unidentified, B-24's were seen on a heading of approximately 70 deg and about 1000 feet higher than our formation. When they were several hundred yards away on a relative bearing of about 285 deg they were seen to release their bombs. Our squadron leader, Co-pilot Lt Grissom, seeing that the bombs were falling toward the formation, attempted to evade them with a sharp turn to the right. This was not entirely successful. One bomb, apparently a 1000 pounder, struck the plane of Lt KR Smith, in the vicinity of bomb bay. The ship exploded and the pieces fell to the water about four miles southeast of the target in flames. No chutes were seen to open. Flames and pieces of wreckage flew back on the ship of Lt Gutheil, flying no. six position. Several holes were made in the left wing and the skin was burned from his left aileron and left rudder. However, he was able to fly the ship back and landed at the base without mishap."The following was taken from the 394th Bombardment Squadron (H), APO #719, Mission Number 5-513-81: "Our losses: A/C 023 and complete crew are listed as M.I.A. due to a 1,000 lb bomb from a three-plane B-24 formation dropping on said plane and exploding on impact. A/C 650 received a hole below the bombardier's and pilot's compartment as a result of flying debris from the exploded A/C 023. A/C 735 received a burned off left aileron, left rudder burned off, seven (7) holes in the leading edge of right and left wings; antenna was damaged, skin on left elevator stabilizer was stretched and wrinkled; both waist windows were broken; dome on nose turret was cracked and number 1 engine slightly damaged from flying debris from explosion of A/C 023. A/C 819 had the left window blown out as a result of the explosion of A/C 023. Several crew men reported being jarred from their positions in the plane, turret gunners were knocked from turrets as a result of the blast; others received violent shocks in different sections of the plane. No bodily harm has been reported." The following was taken from the 394th Bombardment Squadron (H), Historical Officer, Squadron History for the month of March 1945: "On the 9th, as our warships and landing craft, which lay a few miles out, were chafing at the bit to come ashore and take over Zamboanga situation, six (6) of our big bombers battered away at targets in the town, an encore to the previous performance in Zamboanga Town. 36 half tonners made their incredible impressions, leaving in their wake three (3) buildings destroyed, one (1) building damaged, and the railroad facilities a mass of twisted steel. Overshadowing the good job done in our attack was a heart rendering unfortunate occurance that resulted in the loss of nine (9) men and one of our aircraft. After having completed the bomb run and while our formation was leaving the target, one of our planes was hit by a 1,000 pound bomb which had been dropped from a friendly three (3) plane formation flying 2,000 feet above us. The bomb exploded on impact and our aircraft completely disintegrated in midair. No parachutes were seen to open and no survivors could be found by our crew men in the search that immediately followed the disaster. Later, however, it developed that the nose section had blown off intact and miraculously the bombardier, Lt Pete Konduras, lived and suffered no injuries. The following men are listed as missing as a result of this accident: 2nd Lt Kenneth R. Smith, pilot; 2nd Lt Conover B. Sarvis, Jr., co-pilot; 2nd Lt Arthur Rubenstein, navigator; Cpl Louis D. Bedgood, engineer; Cpl Tom E. Gallagher, assistant engineer; Cpl James W. Stack, radio operator; Cpl Robert E. Lumm, assistant radio operator; Cpl William E. Johnson, gunner; and Cpl Carroll V. Rittner, gunner. In addition to this irreparable loss, three (3) other planes were damaged as a result of the explosion from this incident."
This is a photo taken with Pete at a recent dinner I hosted for WWII pilots and you probably already know thier stories
. Tex Hill, Paul Tibbets, me, Pete Konduras, and Tokyo Raider Dick Cole
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