Major Richard I. Bong with his wife Marjorie “Marge” Vattendahl in the cockpit of a P-38 Lightning in Burbank, California, in 1945. Photo by U.S. Army Air Force
POPLAR, WI (WSAU) – An important piece of Wisconsin military history was discovered in the jungles of Papua New Guinea last week and announced on Thursday after more than 80 years of searching.
According to the Independent UK, the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin, along with the nonprofit World War II historical preservation group Pacific Wrecks, has located the infamous Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter known as “Marge,” which crashed and was lost back in March 1944 after suffering engine failure.
The fighter jet was named after Bong’s girlfriend and future wife, Marge Vattendahl. The jet was an essential piece of Bong’s historic military career, which he flew while becoming the top-scoring American ace of World War II, with 40 confirmed Japanese kills, 27 of which came in a single month. Bong was known as “the Ace of Aces,” and his actions made him one of the most decorated Air Force pilots in U.S. history, earning him the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and Distinguished Flying Cross.
Pacific Wrecks Director Justin Taylan spoke about the find in a press release, saying, “The plane’s association with Richard Bong makes it one of the most significant World War II aircraft in the world,” and Bong’s nephew James stated in the release that “The Bong family is very excited about this discovery. It is amazing and incredible that ‘Marge’ has been found and identified.”
Bong passed away shortly after the war in August of 1945 following a crash while test piloting a P-80A 44-85048 in Burbank, California, after the plane’s primary fuel pump malfunctioned during takeoff. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame in 1987 and the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1986, and today there is a bridge that connects Duluth, Minnesota, to Superior, Wisconsin, along US Route 2, named after him, as well as Superior’s airport being named the Richard I. Bong Airport.
Back in March, Taylen expected the expedition to cost $63,000 and take at least 30 days to complete, which was paid for by donations, and the expedition was completed by volunteers.
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