A joint search by the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin, and the nonprofit World War II historical preservation group Pacific Wrecks has led to the discovery of what is believed to be the wreckage of World War II ace Richard Bong’s plane, a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter nicknamed “Marge.” The plane crashed in the South Pacific in March 1944 after experiencing engine failure, while another pilot, Thomas Malone, was flying it over what is now Papua New Guinea. Malone bailed out before the plane crashed in the jungle. The search team, led by Pacific Wrecks Director Justin Taylan, discovered the wreckage in the jungles of Papua New Guinea’s Madang Province on May 15.
During a video news conference from Papua New Guinea, Taylan released photos of himself in the jungle with chunks of metal on the ground, including a wing tip stamped with the last three numbers of the plane’s serial number, “993,” and a piece of metal stamped with “Model P-38 JK.” Taylan stated that the serial number and model identification confirm that the wreckage found is indeed Bong’s plane, Marge. The expedition had been researching the crash site’s location for years, and historical records suggested the plane had gone down on the grounds of a 150-year-old plantation. Local residents had initially shown the expedition the wreckage of a Japanese fighter plane before directing them to the deeper jungle.
The explorers hiked through the jungle until they discovered wreckage in a ravine, where they found two aircraft engines sticking out of the ground, indicating that the plane went in nose-first and buried itself. Wing tips painted red by Bong were still visible, confirming the identity of the plane. Bong, who grew up in Poplar, Wisconsin, was a highly decorated pilot during World War II, credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft. He was awarded the Medal of Honor by Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1944 and was known for painting a blow-up of his girlfriend, Marge Vattendahl’s portrait on the nose of his plane.
Bong’s accomplishments in the war included shooting down more planes than any other American pilot and carrying out three combat tours in the South Pacific. He and Vattendahl later married in 1945, but Bong tragically died in 1945 while testing a P-80 jet fighter in Burbank, California, on the same day the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Vattendahl went on to become a model and magazine publisher in Los Angeles. The Bong family, including Richard Bong’s nephew James Bong, expressed excitement and amazement at the discovery of “Marge” and its identification as the plane flown by the World War II ace. A bridge connecting Superior and Duluth, Minnesota, and a state recreation area in southeastern Wisconsin are named in Bong’s honor.
