A museum in Wisconsin is teaming up with a preservation organization to locate the remains of World War II pilot Richard Bong’s plane in the South Pacific.
According to a report from Minnesota Public Radio, the Pacific Wrecks preservation organization and the Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin have joined forces to conduct a search related to World War II. The announcement was made on Friday.
Bong was raised in Poplar, Wisconsin, and gained recognition for his feat of bringing down 40 Japanese planes during World War II. He was the pilot of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft affectionately named “Marge” after his romantic partner, Marjorie Vattendahl.
According to a summary by Pacific Wrecks, Bong attached a blown-up portrait of Vattendahl on the airplane’s nose during its service.
According to an obituary for Vattendahl published in the Los Angeles Times, Bong commented that Vattendahl’s appearance was impressive and much more appealing than the scantily clad women painted on many planes.
During March of 1944, a different pilot named Thomas Malone was operating the aircraft above what is currently referred to as Papua New Guinea. Due to an engine malfunction, the plane spiraled out of control, prompting Malone to eject himself before it ultimately crashed in the dense jungle.
Justin Taylan, founder of Pacific Wrecks, will be spearheading the plane search. He intends to depart for Papua New Guinea in May.
He is estimating that the search will last around one month and require a total of $63,000, which will be funded through donations.
According to Taylan, he believes he will discover the remains of the crash due to historical data that indicates a general area of the wreckage. However, he is uncertain if there will be sufficient evidence to definitively identify it as Marge.
Taylan expressed optimism that they would uncover irrefutable evidence, in the form of a unique airplane serial number, confirming the identity of the aircraft as Marge.
Bong was praised for his achievements as an American pilot, having shot down the most planes. His fame resulted in being honored by General Douglas MacArthur with the Medal of Honor in 1944, the highest recognition in the US military.
In 1945, Bong and Vattendahl got married. Following three tours of duty in the South Pacific, he was sent to Burbank, California to work as a test pilot.
On August 6, 1945, he died after the P-80 jet fighter he was piloting crashed during a test.
He passed away on the day the US launched an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, shortly before Japan surrendered at the conclusion of World War II.
Vattendahl was 21 years old at the time of Bong’s death. She pursued a career as a model and later became a magazine publisher in Los Angeles. Tragically, she passed away in September 2003 in Superior.
The bridge linking Superior and Duluth, Minnesota, is dedicated to Bong.
Source: theguardian.com
