Explorers find potential wreckage of World War II pilot Richard Bong’s aircraft in South Pacific

The long-lost wreckage of World War II ace Richard Bong’s plane, nicknamed “Marge” after his girlfriend, has been discovered in the South Pacific. The search team, led by the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center and Pacific Wrecks, found the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter in the jungles of Papua New Guinea’s Madang Province.

The plane, piloted by Thomas Malone in March 1944, experienced engine failure and crashed in the jungle. Malone managed to bail out before the crash, leaving the plane lost for decades. The discovery of the wreckage, marked with the last three digits of the serial number “993” and “Model P-38 JK,” is a significant find in World War II history.

Richard Bong, a native of Poplar, Wisconsin, was a highly decorated pilot credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft during the war. He was awarded the Medal of Honor by Gen. Douglas MacArthur for his bravery. Bong’s connection to the plane makes it one of the most important World War II aircraft in the world.

Bong tragically died in a jet fighter crash on the same day the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. His girlfriend, Marge Vattendahl, whom he eventually married, went on to become a model and magazine publisher in Los Angeles. The Bong family expressed their excitement about the discovery, calling it amazing and incredible that “Marge” has been found and identified.