A native of Chicago, Bernard 'Bernie' Bonderski was the eldest son of a Polish immigrant father, Pawel 'Paul' Bonderski and Apolonia "Paulina" (Cholewinska, born in New Jersey) Bonderski. Bernard practiced the Roman Catholic faith. Bernie attended Kelly High School, Chicago, IL, and never married before entering military service.



Bernie served as the Top Turret Gunner on the B-17G, #446140 'Miss Lace,' on 30 Nov 1944 when it encountered heavy flak over the target, the Brabag Synthetic Oil Plant just northeast of Zeitz, Germany. After a near explosion of flak, the plane lost its right wing and entered a vertical spiral while ablaze. It broke into two sections: the tail/waist section, which landed near Threna, Germany, and the nose, which crashed into District 7 of the Oberholz Forest near Großpösna, Germany.



In the Oberholz Forest, the Germans recovered Bonderski's ID tags and remains, which they buried in the Großpösna village cemetery. The US Army exhumed his remains in late June 1945 and identified them from their comparison with his military dental records. His remains were re-interred in St Avold American Cemetery and Memorial, Lorraine, France. The U.S. government gave the one-time option of returning his remains to the U.S. His parents, not knowing if they would have been his remains because of the chaos during the time after the war desired his remains be buried with the men he fought with. Two nephews, Steven Bonderski (1989) and Matthew Bonderski (Great Nephew 2016) are the only two living relatives to have visited his grave-site since the war. The cemetery keeps records of those relatives who visit soldiers graves.