For me and my mature
readers, Dick Bong is simply our hero - the U.S. pilot who shot down
the most enemy planes during World War II and in any war before or
since.
Richard Ira Bong, the future “Ace of Aces,” grew up as the
eldest of nine children on a farm in Poplar, a tiny community not far
from Superior, Wisconsin. As a boy, he was fascinated by the planes
flying over the farm to bring mail to President Calvin Coolidge who
spent a summer in northern Wisconsin. While at college in Superior,
Dick learned how to fly and became a flying cadet in the U.S. Army Air
Corps in time to enter World War II.
Flying the new P-38 fighter, Bong downed 40 Japanese
aircraft. His most famed plane sported a photograph of his back-home
sweetie, “Marge.” In 1944, General Douglas MacArthur recognized Dick’s
accomplishments and personally delivered to him a Congressional Medal
of Honor before sending him back to the United States to keep him
“safe.”
 Dick
earned accolades wherever he went, and the tiny-town smile was never
far from his face. Feeling more secure about his future, he married his
“Marge,” Marjorie Vattendahl, in early 1945.
Poplar, Wisconsin, native Richard Ira Bong looks the part of flying ace.
Dick Bong survived the odds on 200 missions in the Pacific
only to die tragically not long after his marriage. See, back home,
Dick still helped the war effort, testing the first fighter plane using
revolutionary engines called “jets.” A failed takeoff of the Lockheed
P-80 Shooting Star killed Richard Bong, then 24, on the same day that
an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. His untimely death, a
heartbreak for this whole nation, made banner headlines.
Within 10 years after Dick died, a memorial was dedicated to
him in Poplar. Now 57 years later, a major center opened in Superior to
honor not only Richard Bong, but all “heroes” of World War II - every
man and woman who served.
A new heritage center on Highway 2 in Superior honors Bong and all World War II veterans.
Opening of the Richard I. Bong World War II
Heritage Center came on September 24, 2002, the day that would have
been Dick’s 82nd birthday. The spectacular center, situated on the
bayfront, features mementoes donated from World War II veterans from
around the country. One wing of the center houses an incredibly
restored P-38 Lightning Fighter plane with a familiar face and the name
“Marge” along its nose. Only 25 of the aircraft still exist. This one
was donated by the Richard I. Bong American Legion Post No. 435 in
Superior after hours of restoration.
Along with material reminders of World War II are the
priceless stories of veterans. Collection of those stories by the
center will continue as long as there are veterans willing to tell them.
The ceremony officially opening the center did Richard Bong
and all veterans proud. Among the many wonderful speakers were
Lieutenant Colonel Don Lopez, the man who flew that now restored P-38
to Superior in 1948. A squadron leader of the Royal Air Force, Iain
MacAulay, expressed the total effort of the Allied Forces as did the
words of Elizabeth Strohfus, a World War II Women’s Air Service Pilot.
Richard I. Bong WWII Heritage Center
888-816-WWII (9944)
or 715-387-1992
www.bongheritagecenter.org
Open seven days a week
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 While
this center honors the heroes of the war, there are also people to
recognize for their heroic efforts to build such a tribute.
The famed “Marge” P-38, one of 25 still in existence.
Unwavering dedication and years (and years) of work by a
group of supporters raised several million dollars and finally found a
highly accessible location along Highway 2 in Superior. Not
surprisingly, commitment to the project started in Bong’s hometown of
Poplar, where the P-38 served as part of the memorial to him from 1949
to 1994. The Duluth Air National Guard undertook its restoration in
1994 and volunteered some 16,000 hours to the project, reported Maria
Lockwood for the Daily Telegram in Superior.
Among the movers and shakers of the project are Executive
Director Christabel Grant and Board Chairman Terry Lundberg, as well as
President Joyce Erickson, Dick’s sister, and Vice President Marge Bong
Drucker (yes, the Marge). But there are so many to thank for
building this wonderful reminder of the sacrifices made to protect
freedom around the world.
I could write forever and not touch all the important
details. Far better that you should plan to visit this incredible,
vibrantly living memorial beside Lake Superior.
And for those of you who are war veterans, please consider contributing your stories to teach the generations that follow.
The Richard Ira Bong World War II Heritage Center truly is a
tribute to all who served in the military efforts as well as a fitting
way to detail the pilot’s personal accomplishments. To see the actual
aircraft is both a sobering and a thrilling sight, to ponder the
displays and photographs is an incredible experience.
Names fall away, patriotism fills your chest.
It is, quite simply, worth all the time you can give it.
A selection of Jim Marshall’s columns of lake lore and his inland sea voyages
has been published as Lake Superior Journal: Views from the Bridge
by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc. Follow this link
for more information.
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