A museum in Wisconsin is collaborating with a preservation organization to locate the remains of World War II fighter pilot Richard Bong’s aircraft in the South Pacific.
According to Minnesota Public Radio, the Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin, along with the non-profit organization Pacific Wrecks, declared their joint search on Friday to preserve historical remnants from World War II.
Bong, a native of Poplar, Wisconsin, gained recognition for his feat of downing 40 Japanese planes during World War II. He piloted a Lockheed P-38 Lightning known as “Marge” as a tribute to his girlfriend, Marjorie Vattendahl.
According to a summary from Pacific Wrecks, Bong affixed a large portrait of Vattendahl onto the plane’s nose as a decoration.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Bong stated that Vattendahl appeared great and much more appealing than the unclothed female figures painted on most airplanes, as mentioned in Vattendahl’s obituary from 2003.
In March 1944, a different pilot named Thomas Malone was flying the aircraft over what is currently referred to as Papua New Guinea. The plane experienced engine malfunction which caused it to spiral out of control. Malone ejected from the plane before it crashed into the dense jungle.
Justin Taylan, the founder of Pacific Wrecks, will be heading the expedition to locate the aircraft. His scheduled departure for Papua New Guinea is in May.
The person thinks the search may require approximately one month and would cost around $63,000, funded by donations.
According to Taylan’s interview with Minnesota Public Radio, he is confident in locating the wreckage based on historical records that indicate its approximate location. However, he is uncertain if there will be sufficient remains to definitively confirm it is Marge.
“Taylan expressed hopes that we can locate the definitive evidence, a serial number from the airplane identifying it as belonging to Marge.”
Bong was credited with shooting down more enemy aircraft than any other American pilot, which elevated him to celebrity status. In 1944, General Douglas MacArthur presented him with the Medal of Honor, the highest honor in the US military.
In 1945, Bong and Vattendahl got married. After completing three tours in the South Pacific, he was assigned to work as a test pilot in Burbank, California.
On August 6, 1945, he lost his life as the P-80 jet he was piloting for testing purposes crashed.
He passed away on the day that the US deployed an atomic bomb in Hiroshima, less than a month before Japan’s surrender in the final days of World War II.
At the time of Bong’s death, Vattendahl was 21. Afterwards, she pursued a career as a model and magazine publisher in Los Angeles. She passed away in Superior in September 2003.
The Bong Bridge, located in Minnesota, links Superior and Duluth.
Source: theguardian.com
