The fight continued on January 7 as enemy vehicles began to congest the roads, moving eastward or, in some cases, southward from St. Vith in a desperate retreat. MARMITE informed Lt. P. Karas of a newly revealed concentration of nearly 200 mixed vehicles, exposed as the cloud cover lifted. The flight encountered several clusters of about eight motorized transports (M/Ts) moving eastward in the open, with each group spaced apart. The absence of flak positions allowed Brinson's "Buzzin' Bastards" to make repeated passes, resulting in a tally of 25 destroyed M/Ts, 25 damaged, and three immobilized Panther tanks. On January 22, 1945, the "Hun Hunters" were tasked with providing air support for the 7th Armored Division, centered around St. Vith as the main area of air activity, as GIs continued their push to reclaim this strategic point. They were given top priority in terms of "time over target" for each mission, depending on the operational urgency and visibility conditions. Orders specified that a flight from the 366th would (a) take off every 20 to 30 minutes, and (b) ensure that at least one flight was present over the combat zone during active hours. Their primary targets remained the enemy’s transportation network. BURDOCK, the Y-29 Air Traffic Control codename, ordered the Alert Flight to patrol the base airspace to intercept any surprise Luftwaffe attempts to strike a flight during its vulnerable takeoff phase. Each aircraft was equipped with a 260-pound fragmentation bomb on the belly shackle. Due to poor visibility in WETRAG's sector, MARMITE took control, directing the flight to several small groups of M/Ts parked along a roadside. Their bombing and strafing runs destroyed twelve of these vehicles. At a second location north of St. Vith, they discovered a small convoy of troops moving northeast along a narrow back road, attacking with 500-pound general-purpose (GP) bombs. The following day, the squadron bombed eleven railcars, destroying five. En route to intercept a westbound train from Birgel, Lt. Karas directed Red 2 to attack a single M/T speeding east, successfully striking and setting it ablaze. Lt. J. Simpson then resumed his position as wingman to the lead. The squadron located the target train, consisting of ten cars, and strafed it along its length, severely damaging the locomotive and all railcars. A persistent flak position was obliterated with fragmentation bombs and strafing fire. However, the best account of the Greek American pilot during WW2 was given by Martin R. Engler Jr. in his book “FOXHOUND 24” where he devoted a small chapter to him, entitled "Squadron Checkout".
 
"When you were first assigned to a new squadron it was standard practice that you get a "check out” by your new flight leader. My new flight leader was a chap named Phil Karas. Phil was a swarthy-looking officer of Greek extraction, and I thought he looked a lot like a Chicago gangster. This reaction was prompted a bit by the fact that Phil was the only pilot in the squadron who wore a .38-caliber pistol in a shoulder holster - all the rest of us carried a Colt .45 on our hips. My best friend, Hilmer G. Erickson, and I were both assigned to "B Flight" so Phil called us together and briefed our upcoming flight. He said he would lead the flight, and his good friend Bill Johnson would be the element leader. He said they would want to fly some close formation and combat formation work and then we would do some acrobatics and a little tail chasing. That all sounded good to us. Both Eric and I were eager to show our new flight leader just how good we were. Now you want to understand that there is nothing "hotter" in the Air Corps than a new second lieutenant with about 225 hours of flight time. This promised to be a piece of cake, and we were eager to get going. We all taxied out to the end of the runway, pulled into position, and took off. We immediately “joined up" into a close formation group that looked pretty good. Phil was a very smooth pilot and flying in his formation was a treat. We flew around for a while doing turns and dives and pull-ups and all the simple stuff until Phil and Bill were satisfied, we could at least stay in formation and would probably not get lost on our first mission. Then Phil opened the formation to a combat configuration and here the maneuvers were a lot more severe and staying in position with frequent "crossovers" became more of a challenge. Then Phil had us get in a trail configuration and he led us through a bunch of rolls and dives and loops. These were all a lot of fun and Eric and I were doing a pretty good job of staying with the "experienced hands." Then I think Phil realized that he was flying with a couple of guys who could at least stay with them in normal maneuvers, so he decided to give us the "treatment." He called on the radio and said that he and Bill would form up and be one element and that Eric and I should do the same. Then we would simulate some aerial combat against them. That sounded like fun, and we were ready. We flew out some distance, turned around, and came back at each other head-on. As we passed, the battle was on! Well, let me tell you something - the two "hot rock" second lieutenants hardly got their airplanes turned around to "attack" before the other team came over the radio with a “rat-a-tat-tat” You're dead! Phil and Bill were sitting on our tails looking at us through their gun sights. We tried this exercise several more times with the same results. At about this point in time, if you had any brains at all, you began to realize that there might be a few things more to learn about flying the P-47 in a combat situation with real combat pilots. The next thing Phil did was have us join up and make a simulated strafing run. Phil picked out a target and went down on it with all of us following close behind. Just as he passed the target, he proceeded to do about four rolls right on the deck - Bill Johnson followed suit and did four rolls right on the deck. That clinched it for me these guys knew how to fly, and I had a lot more to learn. On my first combat mission, I flew the squadron commander's wing, which was tradition, but thereafter for the next few missions I flew on Phil's wing. I remember on my first mission with him we were in heavy flak, and he was taking evasive action I pulled in behind him at one point and he yelled at me not to get behind him. Since he was turning all over the sky, I had to cut him off to stay in the formation. My feelings were hurt by being yelled at. When we got back on the ground Phil took me aside and said, "Don't ever fly directly behind me—those damn Germans will be shooting at me but since they never give enough lead on their targets, if you are behind me, you will pick up the flak meant for me." I didn't get behind anyone thereafter."

During the war, he married his sweetheart, fellow Greek American Toula Blanas, whose name he used as the nose art on his P-47 Thunderbolt while flying over the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in World War II. They were blessed with two children, a son, Andrew, and a daughter, Maureen Karas. By the end of the war, he had flown nearly 75 missions and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and an Air Medal with 16 Oak Leaf Clusters. After the war, he continued serving in various units of the United States Air Force (USAF), surviving a close brush with death following an accident involving an F-84E Thunderjet. This was the third accident in his career; he had previously experienced a minor incident while piloting a B-24 after returning to the States. His distinguished career continued as he served as Chief of Air Defense for NATO in Izmir, Turkey, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Later, he was Chief of Air Safety at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Vietnam. He concluded his career with a diplomatic post in Athens as the Air Force Chief for the Joint United States Military Aid Group to Greece (JUSSMAG), a role later filled by the renowned Greek American ace, Steve Pisanos. Following his retirement, he worked as a training officer for a major banking institution in Las Vegas, Nevada. Phil Karas passed away on December 31, 2004, at the age of 87, and was laid to rest with full military honors at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. A proud American, he served his country through challenging times, never forgetting his heritage and always working to support Greece and its armed forces, especially as commander of JUSMAG Greece.