Harold H. Pinder knew his attempt to escape capture by the Germans was over when the first hand grenade was tossed into the cellar of a Belgian farmhouse where he was hiding.

The potato masher-shaped grenade didn't explode. Neither did at least one other that landed nearby.

Lt. Pinder, the pilot of a B-24 bomber that was shot down in the Ardennes by German fighters in January 1944, spent the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp in Belgium. While he was there, he learned his brother John, an Army radio man who was awarded the Medal of Honor, died heroically on Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy.

Mr. Pinder, a retired draftsman from what is now Ruthrauff Sauer Inc., a former scout leader and an occasional sailor, died Tuesday at the Wexford House Nursing Center in McCandless. He was 86.

He was born in McKees Rocks, graduated from Butler High School and went to war. He was a member of the 8th Air Force, 44th bomb group, 67th squadron. The name of his group was the "Crazy 8 Balls." Sky Queen was the name of his plane. He and his crew flew out of Shipdham, England. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Bronze Star.

"He was on his 10th mission when he was shot down," said his son, Harold H. Pinder Jr. of Ross. "He was only 21. I can't imagine having that responsibility at that age."

After the war, Lt. Pinder returned to Burgettstown, married a nursing student he met on a blind date in Pittsburgh and then moved to Florida to fly cargo planes to Cuba. His wife, Gene, who didn't care for Florida's hurricane seasons, persuaded him to return to the Pittsburgh area.

He attended Washington & Jefferson College for a year or two and then went to work as a draftsman for the first of a number of Pittsburgh companies. He worked on a number of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems for a variety of buildings, especially hospitals.

Mr. Pinder and his wife bought a home in McCandless, raised four children and were actively involved in their lives. He was the leader of Scout Troop 298. His wife was a Girl Scout leader. They watched their son accomplish all the steps necessary to become an Eagle Scout, the highest ranking in the Boy Scouts of America. Their three daughters were Girl Scouts.

"He was a quiet, private, non-materialistic man," said a daughter, Jean Kolarik of Marshall. "He never put on airs. He enjoyed gathering up neighborhood kids and take us all out for ice cream. He also enjoyed flying model airplanes. He and our mother enjoyed sailing a Sunfish on Lake Arthur at Moraine State Park. They'd pack a picnic lunch and off they'd go."

"Although he never got a college degree, he was a whiz at math," his son said. "He could really crunch the numbers. He also was an excellent pilot. He taught me to fly when I was 15 years old. He was proud of me when I learned to fly a helicopter. He was the best of the best. I wish I had listened to him more than I did."

Mr. Pinder was a member of Ingomar United Methodist Church.

In addition to his son and Mrs. Kolarik, he is survived by two other daughters, Jo Ann Pinder of Baltimore and Laura Marks of Mercer, and six grandchildren.

Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at H. P. Brandt Funeral Home, 1032 Perry Highway, Ross, where a service will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow. Burial will be in Allegheny County Memorial Park, McCandless.

The family suggests contributions to the American Cancer Society, 320 Bilmar Drive, Pittsburgh 15205.

Harold Pinder (1922)