Bernard Dunn, born in Louann, Ouachita County, Arkansas, enlisted as a volunteer in the Naval Reserve on August 26, 1942, at the age of 19. He was called to active duty as an aviation cadet, and commissioned as an ensign on December 4, 1943. He served first in the Naval Training Center at Corpus Christi, Texas, and later transferred to the "Fighting Squadron 29" out of Atlantic City, New Jersey, in March 1944. In June 1944, he was transferred to the "Fighting Squadron 80" out of San Diego, California. He saw combat duty in the Pacific from September to December of 1944, during General Douglas MacArthur's invasion and recapture of the Philippines. He was released from active duty in September 1945, and returned to El Dorado, Arkansas, where he worked for the Lion Oil Company chemical division in 1947.