Gora was born on 28 December 1922 in the village of Svetilovka (now in Belogorsky District, Amur Oblast) into a peasant family.

In July 1941, Gora was drafted into military service with the Red Army by the Kuibyshev RVK of the Khabarovsk Krai.

By order of the 248th Brigade № 4/n of 4 March 1943, Gora, then serving with the rank of sergeant as assistant platoon commander of the 3rd Rifle Battalion, was awarded the Medal "For Courage".

[1] By September 1943, Senior Sergeant Pyotr Gora was assistant platoon commander of the 248th Cadet Rifle Brigade of the 60th Army of the Central Front.

[2][3] On 24 September 1943, Gora, with a group of fighters, was one of the first to cross the Dnieper near the village of Tolokun [ru], Vyshhorod Raion of the Kiev Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR and captured an enemy trench.