DIED  IN  TRAINING  ACCIDENT  -  7/19/1942

Constantine George “Gus” Bebas was born February 24, 1914, in Chicago, Illinois.  While attending Northwestern University School of Engineering he was a member of the USNR Training Corps and received a commission as Ensign.  Following his college graduation in 1939 he commenced active duty.  Following training he was appointed Naval Aviator No. 8779 on September 5, 1941, and assigned to Bombing Squadron Eight (VB-8) aboard the carrier USS Hornet (CV-8).  In this assignment he became pilot of the Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bomber.

On June 4, 1942, the first day of the Battle of Midway, Bebas flew in the first strike, but his squadron did not locate the Japanese.  Flying to Midway he refueled and returned to the Hornet.  On the afternoon of June 5, he participated in the search for a reported Japanese carrier but did not locate it as it had already been sunk.  On the afternoon of June 6, Bebas took part in strikes flown against two heavy cruisers and their screening destroyers, scoring a damaging near miss on a cruiser in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire.  This earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Hornet returned to Pearl Harbor following the Battle of Midway, and its air group, shore based, returned to operational training.  While on a routine three-plane bombing flight off Oahu on the morning of July 19, 1942, Bebas dived on a target boat and released his practice bomb at 2,000 feet.  Unfortunately, his Dauntless was observed to enter a steep right turn.  Bebas either blacked-out or could not overcome the heavy stick forces present in the dive and his SBD-3 (BuNo 4573) dove into the ocean, killing Bebas and Ensign William Mason Stevens who was in the back seat.  The remains of both officers were recovered and buried together in a joint grave at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Francisco, California.  ENS Bebas was survived by his father residing in Wilmette, Illinois.

In his honor, the destroyer escort USS Bebas (DE-10) was commissioned on May 15, 1943, and served in the Western Pacific during the remainder of World War II, earning three battle stars for her service.

DISTINGUISHED  FLYING  CROSS  CITATION

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Ensign Gus G. Bebas (NSN: 0-80826), United States Naval Reserve, for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as pilot on Bombing Squadron EIGHT (VB-8) in the Battle of Midway.  On 6 June 1942, he participated in the bombing and strafing of fleeing enemy forces.  In the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire he courageously, without regard for his own safety, attacked the enemy and obtained a near miss which damaged an enemy ship. His conduct was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

                          SBD-3  ON  USS HORMET   DECK  DURING  BATTLE  OF  MIDWAY

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)