It's arguable that the most famous aircraft from World War II was the Memphis Bell, a B-17F, or, the Enola Gay, a B-29. Have you ever heard of Marge, the P38? Have you heard of Richard Bong? Major Richard Bong (September 24, 1920 - August 6, 1945) is America’s top flying ace.
(Marge was named for Bong’s girlfriend, Marjorie Vattendahl, who he married on February 10, 1945. Marjorie Vattendahl Bong married again in the 1950’s after the death of Richard. She passed away in 2001 after a struggle with breast cancer and her ashes were buried on the Bong family farm next to the ashes of Richard.)
Bong was a deft pilot who seized the P-38’s monster weaponry to claim his first two aerial kills in December 1942 over Buna, New Guinea. At five aerial victories a month later, he earned the title “ace.”
On April 12, 1944, he exceeded the 26 aerial kills claimed by America’s top World War I ace, Edward Rickenbacker, making Bong the highest scoring ace in U.S. history, a title still standing.
Along the way he was awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross and Medal of Honor.
On March 24, 1944, another pilot, 2nd Lt. Tom Malone, was flying Bong’s plane on a weather reconnaissance mission over New Guinea when electrical malfunctions forced him to bail out at about 11,000 feet. The plane crashed, and it's location are unknown, so, the search will begin soon to find it.
Bong, who was promoted to major, went on to fly more missions in other planes, racking up 40 aerial victories before he was brought back to the U.S. mainland in early 1945. There, he married, hawked war bonds and became a test pilot for the first jet fighters.
Bong’s untimely death later that year should have been major news, but it was eclipsed by a cataclysmic event. He crashed while flying a P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter shortly after taking off in Southern California on Aug. 6, 1945, the same day America dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
On April 12, 1944, he exceeded the 26 aerial kills claimed by America’s top World War I ace, Edward Rickenbacker, making Bong the highest scoring ace in U.S. history, a title still standing.
Along the way he was awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross and Medal of Honor.
On March 24, 1944, another pilot, 2nd Lt. Tom Malone, was flying Bong’s plane on a weather reconnaissance mission over New Guinea when electrical malfunctions forced him to bail out at about 11,000 feet. The plane crashed, and it's location are unknown, so, the search will begin soon to find it.
Bong, who was promoted to major, went on to fly more missions in other planes, racking up 40 aerial victories before he was brought back to the U.S. mainland in early 1945. There, he married, hawked war bonds and became a test pilot for the first jet fighters.
Bong’s untimely death later that year should have been major news, but it was eclipsed by a cataclysmic event. He crashed while flying a P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter shortly after taking off in Southern California on Aug. 6, 1945, the same day America dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Richard Bong
P-80 Shooting Star
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