Searchers have recently discovered what they believe is the wreckage of World War II ace Richard Bong’s plane, located in the South Pacific. The joint search led by the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin, and the nonprofit organization Pacific Wrecks was launched in March with the goal of finding Bong’s Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter, which he had named “Marge” after his girlfriend. The plane had crashed in March 1944 over what is now Papua New Guinea due to engine failure, with the pilot Thomas Malone bailing out before the crash.
The expedition’s leader, Pacific Wrecks Director Justin Taylan, announced that the search team discovered the wreckage in the jungles of Papua New Guinea’s Madang Province on May 15. Photos released by Taylan show him in the jungle with pieces of metal on the ground, including a wing tip stamped with the last three numbers of the plane’s serial number. Taylan stated that the serial number and model identification found on the wreckage confirm that it is indeed Bong’s plane, “Marge.” The historical records suggested the crash site was on a plantation, but local residents guided the explorers to wreckage deeper in the jungle, where two aircraft engines were protruding from the ground.
Richard Bong, a native of Poplar, Wisconsin, was a highly decorated World War II pilot credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft. He had painted the wing tips of his plane red, a detail that was still visible on the wreckage. Bong was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1944 for his heroic actions during the war. He was tragically killed in 1945 while testing a P-80 jet fighter, on the same day the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. He had married Marge Vattendahl, his girlfriend and namesake of his plane, in 1945, and she went on to become a model and magazine publisher in Los Angeles after his death.
A bridge connecting Superior and Duluth, Minnesota, as well as a state recreation area in southeastern Wisconsin, are among the notable landmarks named after Richard Bong in honor of his contributions during World War II. Bong’s nephew, James Bong, expressed the family’s excitement and gratitude for the discovery of the plane wreckage, calling it amazing and incredible that “Marge” had been found and positively identified. The search for Bong’s plane and the subsequent discovery represents a significant moment in preserving the memory and legacy of one of America’s most distinguished war heroes, whose remarkable accomplishments continue to inspire generations.
