NAVAL AVIATOR & MIDWAY

"Gus took flight training at the Naval Reserve Aviation Base at Glenview, a suburb of Chicago but after the successful outcome of his preliminary flight training, he resigned for a short period to arrange some personal issues, asking to be re-enlisted later. According to his letter:

"On 15 March 1940, I successfully completed the preliminary flight training course at the Glenview Air Base and was ordered to the U.S. Naval Air Station for further training, on 15 August 1940. Unfortunately, at that time I was operating my own business and it was impossible for me to leave it and depart for Pensacola. Due to the new legislature enacted by Congress and approved by the President, I found it necessary to terminate my business. On 24 February 1941, I will be 27 years of age, which is within the age requirement. At this time, I request that I be considered for reinstatement as an Aviation Cadet for advanced flight instruction to the U.S. Naval Air Station."

Indeed, Gus returned to the Navy, however, he repeated his preliminary training as the US Navy thought correctly that during his absence, he would probably lose his flying abilities, considering that he had no experience. He completed his training and was appointed an aviation cadet on February 19, 1941. The following day, he reported for training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, the hub of the Navy’s air training activities at the time. The summer of 1941 also provided Bebas an opportunity to pitch for the Pensacola Navy baseball team. On August 4, 1941, Bebas was assigned to Naval Air Station Miami for advanced carrier training, and he was appointed a naval aviator on September 5. On September 26, 1941, he was promoted to the rank of ensign and returned home to Wilmette for a brief visit with family and friends. Upon that time the Greek American pilot had logged 246.3 flight hours of which 177.6 were solo. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Ensign Bebas was serving with the Advanced Carrier Training Group, Atlantic Fleet. On December 23, he reported to Bombing Squadron 8 (VB-8) at Norfolk, Virginia, part of the USS Hornet (CV-8) Air Group. At that time VB-8 was equipped with the two-seat Curtiss SBC-3 Helldiver, a biplane dive-bomber that had been in service with the Navy since 1938. On March 4, 1942, the Hornet set sail from Norfolk for the West Coast via the Panama Canal with VB-8’s new airplanes—Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers.

The Hornet arrived at Alameda, California, on March 20, and with her own planes on the hangar deck, she loaded 16 Army Air Force North American B-25 Mitchell bombers on the flight deck, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James “Jimmy” Doolittle. On April 2, the Hornet departed Alameda, and, for the first time, the crew was informed of the Army flyers’ mission: a daring bombing raid on Japan. The Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to hit mainland Japan. All 16 bombers were lost, and 11 crewmen were either killed or captured. But although the military significance of the raid was minimal, it proved to be a substantial morale booster for the American people. With the B-25 bombers airborne and bound for Japan, the Hornet steamed at full speed for Pearl Harbor and remained there until April 30, when she departed to assist the USS Yorktown and USS Lexington at the Battle of the Coral Sea. The battle ended before the Hornet reached the scene and she returned to Hawaii on May 26 and sailed two days later to stop the anticipated Japanese assault on Midway Atoll. On the morning of June 4, 1942, Bebas engaged in his first combat mission as the Hornet launched all available airplanes to search for Japanese aircraft carriers. Loaded with a 1,000-pound bomb, Bebas and the other dive-bomber pilots of VB-8 searched in vain for the enemy carriers. With fuel running desperately low, not all made it back to the Hornet. One plane ditched in the sea and Bebas was among many who had to land at Midway Island. After refueling, he returned to the Hornet. On June 5, 1942, Bebas was among 20 dive-bombers that were launched from the Hornet to attack a small Japanese force of cruisers and destroyers. Because they would operate at the limit of their combat range the dive-bombers carried the smaller 500-pound bombs. When the fast-moving Japanese destroyer IJN Tanikaze was spotted, Bebas put his plane into a vertical dive, selected his point of aim, and raced for his release point amidst flak bursts from the destroyer’s anti-aircraft guns. Frighteningly close to the huge destroyer, Bebas pressed the electrical bomb release button, pulled out of his dive, and closed the dive brakes. Bebas’s bomb fell just 100 feet from the Tanikaze’s port quarter. The following afternoon, he participated in a strike against the heavy cruisers IJN Mikuma and IJN Mogami, scoring a damaging near miss on the latter ship.

KITA TO ETERNITY

Following the Battle of Midway, the Hornet returned to Pearl Harbor, where VB-8 became shore-based and returned to operational training. While on a routine training flight leading three planes on a dive-bombing practice off Oahu on the morning of July 19, 1942, Bebas put his Dauntless into a dive to attack a target boat maneuvering off Barber’s Point. According to the VB-8 report:

"Bebas was leading a scheduled dive-bombing fight of three (3) planes operating with an armored target boat off Barbers Pte, Oahu, T. H. On the first dive, which started at 8000 feet altitude, Ensign Bebas commenced pullout at approximately 1500 feet and simultaneously entered a right turn. The plane struck the water in a spiral, approximately 500 yards astern of the target boat, and immediately disappeared. Small wreckage, including the life-raft and oxygen mask, came to the wreckage. Due to the extreme depth of water, it was not deemed advisable to further search for the plane and bodies."

Whether he blacked out or was unable to overcome the heavy stick force present in the dive is unknown, but his plane crashed into the ocean, killing himself and the observer/rear gunner, Ensign William M. Stevens. In April 1943, Bebas was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his involvement in the Battle of Midway. The citation accompanying the medal, which was received by his mother, read in part:

"For heroism and extraordinary nary achievement in an aerial flight as pilot of an airplane in Bombing Squadron EIGHT in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Battle of Midway on June 6, 1942. With utter disregard for his own personal safety, Ensign Bebas participated in persistent bombing and strafing attacks against fleeing enemy forces, obtaining a damaging near-miss on an enemy vessel in the face of tremendous anti-aircraft fire. is courageous conduct and stern devotion to the fulfillment of a vastly important mission contributed materially to the victory achieved by our forces and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

The following month, his mother and sister, Anne, traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, at the invitation of the Navy, to christen a destroyer escort vessel named in Gus Bebas’s honor. The 1,400-ton USS Bebas (DE-10) was based in the Pacific until the cease of hostilities, performing patrol and escort duties and receiving three battle stars. Dr. Franklin B. Snyder, president of Northwestern University, at a memorial service in honor of Bebas at St. Andrew's Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago on June 27, 1943, eulogized:

"He was a student of whom we all felt proud. He was loved and admired by the students and his friends; one we knew would have a distinguished record. We regret his death, but we take a pride in his heroism and his accomplishments. On behalf of the university, I salute him!"

Gus Bebas and Ensign William Stevens are buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.