1944 Top US Ace Plane Wingtip Recovered

A piece of a Second World War P-38 Lockheed Lightning fighter plane flown by United States Army Air Corps Maj. The aircraft, dubbed “Mission Marge” after his future wife Marjorie “Marge” Vattendahl, crashed in March 1944 after another pilot was forced to bail out over a rainforest.

The Search and Recovery of ‘Mission Marge’

Eighty years after the crash, the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Centre partnered with the nonprofit organization Pacific Wrecks to locate the scattered wreckage on a remote hillside in Papua New Guinea, according to Briana Fiandt, curator of collections and exhibits at the center. Leslie Westmont, public affairs officer for the Wisconsin National Guard, noted that a 2020 military agreement through the State Partnership Program facilitated renewed interest in the shared history between Wisconsin and Papua New Guinea.

A team from Pacific Wrecks conducted a non-invasive site survey, discovering that the plane had crashed into a jungle-covered hillside with both engines embedded in the soil, according to the group’s documentation. Part numbers confirmed the wreckage belonged to a P-38, featuring red-painted wingtips and radiator data plates for a P-38J model. Bong’s nephews accompanied the recovery team after the government of Papua New Guinea granted legal permissions to secure parts of the aircraft, according to Fiandt. The Wisconsin Air National Guard then utilized a KC-135 Stratotanker flying an unrelated mission in the area to transport the wingtip back to the United States, arriving on July 15.

The Combat Legacy of Maj. Richard Bong

Originally from Poplar, Wisconsin, Bong was a farm kid with an aviation interest who joined the Army Air Forces before the war, according to Fiandt. Deployed to the Pacific Theater with the Fifth Air Force, he flew numerous missions and achieved 40 confirmed victories, earning the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Before receiving his own aircraft, Bong flew whatever planes were available, writing in a letter home that he never had one aircraft long enough to paint anything on it due to too many bullet holes, as documented by Pacific Wrecks. He once told his wife that the “Marge” plane was the most shot-at girl in the Pacific.

Despite being assigned as a gunnery instructor and not expected to perform further combat duty, Bong volunteered for repeated hazardous missions over Balikpapan, Borneo, and the Leyte area of the Philippines, prompting the military to order him back to the United States for his own safety. Following his return, he married Marge at the cathedral in Superior, Wisconsin. Stateside duty proved fatal six months later when Bong died at age 24 while test piloting the nation’s first Lockheed jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star, in California. According to the Historical Center, he bailed out after steering the crashing aircraft away from civilian homes, though it was too late. Marge later remarried and passed away in Wisconsin in 2003 at the age of 79.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the recovered P-38 wingtip now located?

The recovered wingtip is part of the permanent collection at the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin, while a second piece of the wreckage was placed in the national museum in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, according to Fiandt.

How many combat victories did Maj. Richard Bong achieve?

Bong achieved 40 confirmed combat victories during World War II, establishing a record for the most victories by a US pilot that remains unbroken today, according to the Wisconsin National Guard.

Why was the plane named “Mission Marge”?

The P-38 Lockheed Lightning was named after Marjorie “Marge” Vattendahl, whom Bong later married after returning to the United States, according to the Wisconsin National Guard.