History North

America's Ace of Aces | Episode 001

The first of nine children, born in 1920 to a Swedish immigrant father and American-born mother, Dick Bong’s (Richard Bong) upbringing epitomized the values and expectations of that era – loyalty to his family and a deep sense of patriotism. Like all farm children, he had chores to perform and was expected to drive farm machinery at an early age. He hunted and fished in the surrounding woods and streams, played on his school athletic teams and sang in his church choir; as his 4H project he planted the extensive evergreen windbreak on the family farm, which is still in the family. At that time he modeled the ideal all-American boy. Dick Bong became enamored of flying as a small boy, watching planes fly over the farm which were supposedly carrying mail for President Calvin Coolidge’s summer White House in Superior. As a college student at the State Teachers College in Superior (now the University of Wisconsin, Superior), he learned to fly in the Civilian Pilot Training program; at the age of 20 he became a flying cadet in the US Army Air Corps, in time for the entry of America into World War II. Dick became America’s all-time Ace of Aces, downing 40 enemy planes in the Pacific theater of the war while flying P-38 fighter planes. His many decorations for outstanding skills and extraordinary courage included the Congressional Medal of Honor. Richard Bong was ordered home for his own safety and married his sweetheart, Marge, in Superior. Six months later he was killed test piloting the first Lockheed jet fighter plane. His death at the age of 24 occurred the same day that the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, yet he received banner headlines in the national newspapers. Thousands attended Dick’s funeral services in Superior, and many more lined the funeral route to the Poplar cemetery, where he was buried in the family plot. In 1955, ten years after his death, a memorial was dedicated to Dick Bong in his hometown of Poplar, Wisconsin. History North was created by Briana Fiandt and Emma Wiessenberger with the hope that Major Bong's story will inspire, honor and revive America's Greatest Ace.  Thank you for listening to stories of ordinary people who have done extraordinary things.