Park Ridge veteran hailed for WWII heroism
Friday was 74 years to the day that Nick Korompilas of Park Ridge became a hero by risking his life to rescue a fellow sailor on a sinking ship in the shark-infested Pacific Ocean near the Japanese island of Okinawa during World War II.
Korompilas' heroics didn't go unnoticed by the Navy when he returned home. However, he said he declined an offer to receive an award for his actions at Great Lakes Naval Station near North Chicago and asked that it be mailed to his home at the time in Lincolnwood.
Through the efforts of his son, John, the public recognition Korompilas, now 94, passed on in the 1940s came in the middle of Friday's graduation ceremony for 602 recruits attended by at least 2,000 invited spectators.
While on the main reviewing stand, Rear Adm. Mike Bernacchi presented the Navy and Marines Corps Medal for heroism and three other service medals to Korompilas, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd as the graduates remained at attention.
"It was a great honor to be here," Korompilas said during a private reception afterward that featured awards from Navy brass to top grads. "I graduated from corps school here, 16 weeks of medical, and it brought back a lot of memories. And that was 75 years ago."
Bernacchi said it's rare for Great Lakes to have a presentation, such as the one for Korompilas, incorporated into graduation. Great Lakes graduates new sailors almost every Friday, which allowed Navy Lt. Cmdr. Frederick Martin to arrange the recognition for Korompilas on the exact day the USS Mannert L. Abele was sunk in 1945.
"Let's face it, there's not a lot of heroes from that era around," said Bernacchi, commander of Naval Training Command. "And to have one in our midst who is right there, happy to talk, tells a story - that's priceless. That's gold."
According to a naval citation that Korompilas received in a leather binder, the Abele came under attack near Okinawa by Japanese aircraft, including kamikazes. After reaching the main deck to abandon the sinking ship, Pharmacist's Mate 3rd Class Korompilas returned to the galley in an effort to rescue chief commissary stewards.
"I ran back to the galley and I saw (a sailor) lying on the deck," said Korompilas, who was accompanied by his family to Friday's ceremony. "He was scalded. He was stirring a big pot of soup for 350 men, and the soup came up and scalded him. And I picked him up by one hand and dragged him and threw him in the water and I brought him to two rafts."
Only two of 11 rafts got off the ship, he said, and the sailors in the water encountered sharks and a Japanese Zero fighter plane that strafed the survivors. Korompilas said 85 of the 350 sailors died and 37 suffered injuries, including shark bites.
Korompilas said two U.S. Navy landing ships nearby dropped nets to rescue the sailors who were drenched in fuel oil. Some of the men pulled from the water were dead.
"We buried six men at sea," he said. "We put a 5-inch shell in the canvas bag, we said a prayer and sent them down to the bottom. And the good Lord spared my life."
Officials said the Navy and Marine Corps Medal is bestowed only when there was an evident act of heroism during a specific life-threatening risk to the recipient.
In civilian life, Korompilas went on to become a commercial real estate broker and retired at age 57. He moved from Lincolnwood to Park Ridge, where he's lived for 25 years.
Surrounded by new sailors about 75 years younger than him, Korompilas said he was impressed and confident about the Navy in 2019.
"I'm very proud of them," he said. "Very proud of them. And I'm glad to have served my country."