Who was Richard I . Bong ?
One of America ’ s premier war heroes , Richard Ira Bong was born to Swedish immigrants in Poplar , Wisconsin , in 1920 . His birthplace is not far from Superior and Duluth . While attending Superior State Teachers College , he enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Training Program and took private flying lessons . In 1941 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program .
He went on to become one of the most effective fighter pilots in World War II , shooting down at least 40 Japanese aircraft . Among his many military awards was the Medal of Honor , presented in December 1944 to recognize his service to his country .
He returned to the United States in January 1945 and became a test pilot assigned to Lockheed ’ s Burbank , California , plant . On Aug . 6 , 1945 , a mechanical malfunction caused his plane to lose power . Bong was too low to the ground to parachute from the plane . It crashed , and he was killed . He was a national hero at the time , and news of his death shared front-page headlines with coverage of the American bombing of Hiroshima .
In addition to the bridge in his name , he is memorialized through parks in Wisconsin and , most recently , the Richard I . Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior . The museum and tribute to the military is housed in a structure built to resemble an aircraft hangar and contains a P-38 Lightning aircraft restored to resemble Bong ’ s plane .
Bong was inducted in the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame in October 1987 .
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