Search Opens for Missing Richard Bong Plane of 80 Years

SUPERIOR, Wisc. — The Bong Veteran’s Historical Center will tag along, at least electronically, as a small group will visit Papua New Guinea to find what’s left of the first plane Richard Bong had piloted in World War Two.

Bong did not die in the war, he died shortly after returning home when he was piloting a test plane that crashed in California.

Richard Bong, like most young men in the early 40s, went to war to fight the Germans and Japanese. Entering the war, Bong brought with him a pilot’s license.

Two of Bong’s nieces were at the Bong History Center to talk about the uncle they knew only briefly, but have heard about their entire lives.

Nancy Lind, Bong’s niece  said, “I would like people to know that my uncle was just a hometown boy…but when he got into the cockpit of that airplane, he flipped the switch…he just became a different person.”

He was an ace, actually he was the number one ace of World War II. He’s credited with bringing down 40 Japanese planes, making him America’s Flying Ace and becoming a hero back in the States.

Nancy Lind didn’t realize just know how well known her uncle was until she was about 17 and was visiting Washington, D.C.

“I was there with a group of eight, and you know we met a lot of people,” said Lind.” They would ask, where you from? So I would say Poplar, Wisconsin, and I had people say, Oh, that’s Bong Country. That’s when it really occurred to me, yeah sure. The nation knew of this person and what he’d done, So kind of neat.”

Justin Taylan of Pacific Wrecks.com will lead the expedition to Papua New Guinea where this plane rests. Taylan and two others will search the jungles and attempt to verify the plane is Richard Bong’s P38, dubbed Marge.

Briana Fiandt, the Curator of Collections at the Bong Veterans Historical Center, is the person who originally dreamed of finding the wreckage and has high hopes for the expedition.

“In my dream, yeah, I hope they find a piece of the Marge picture or a piece of the decal named Marge,” said Fiandt.” I know that’s not likely, but that would be my ultimate fantasy.”

While that dream may be unattainable, she does hope the expedition finds enough evidence to document, that yes, this is one of the planes that had Marge painted on the nose.

Pacific Wrecks.com and The Bong Center will try to send video and photos back of what they find.  The expedition is scheduled to take place in May of this year.