Pete Barnes - Richard Bong: World War II Flying Ace

RICHARD BONG

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Richard Bong: World War II: Flying Ace

Tents, Tigers, and the Ringling Brothers

RICHARD BONG

World War II Flying Ace

Pete Barnes

Wisconsin Historical Society Press

Published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press

Publishers since 1855

2009 by State Historical Society of Wisconsin

E-book edition 2013

For permission to reuse material from Richard Bong: World War II Flying Ace (ISBN 978-0-87020-434-0; e-book ISBN 978-0-87020-548-4), please access www.copyright.com or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users.

wisconsin history .org

Photographs identified with WHi or WHS are from the Societys collections; address requests to reproduce these photos to the Visual Materials Archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society, 816 State Street, Madison, WI 53706. Unless otherwise noted, all other images are property of the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center. Please direct inquiries about such photos to the Curator at the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center, 305 Harborview Parkway, Superior, WI 54880.

Designed by Jill Bremigan

13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Barnes, Pete.

Richard Bong : World War II flying ace/ Pete Barnes.

p. cm.(Badger biographies)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-87020-434-0 1. Bong, Richard IJuvenile literature. 2. United States. Army Air ForcesBiographyJuvenile literature. 3. Fighter pilotsUnited StatesBiography Juvenile literature. 4. World War, 19391945Aerial operations, AmericanJuvenile literature. 5. World War, 19391945Pacific AreaJuvenile literature. I. Title.

UG626.2.B66B376 2009

940.544973092dc22

[B]

2009000991

Front and back cover images courtesy of the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center.

To Sophia, the most important girl in my life

Publication of this book was made possible, in part, by gifts from Richard Grum and Mrs. Harvey E. Vick of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Additional funding was provided by a grant from the D. C. Everest fellowship fund.

Contents

Sky-High Dreams

On a hot day in August 1945, a long, black car drove slowly down the dirt road leading from the Bong family farm to the small cemetery in nearby Poplar, Wisconsin. Thousands of people lined the road, heads bowed in respect for a fallen American hero. Farmers and storekeepers, schoolchildren and grandmothersthey had all come to say good-bye to Major Richard Bong. The people of Poplar had cheered him when he returned from World War II just a few months before. Bong was Americas most successful to the difficult task of defeating the Japanese empire and bringing peace to the world.

preserve freedom. As his funeral car rolled slowly along, the people of Poplar thought about the loss of such a special American, a man who had known since childhood he would make his mark on the world high up in the skies.

The year was 1928. Young Richard froze and looked up to the sky, a fishing pole balanced on his left shoulder. He listened carefully to the faraway drone of the army airplane delivering mail to President Calvin Coolidge. President Coolidge was on vacation nearby, on Cedar Island in Lake Superior (su pir ee ur). All thoughts of fishing in the creek were forgotten as Richard imagined himself in the the plane through the clouds. Little did he know that years later he would become Americas most highly honored pilot.

Richard was an excellent student at Superior Central High School.

Richards younger sister Jerry ended his daydream. Richard, come on! she insisted. Weve only got a couple of hours before we have to be back for evening chores. Richard turned and followed his sisters down the path toward the creek. He would have time later that night to work on his newest model airplane and dream of his future as a pilot.

At the dinner table the Bong family talked about the day and enjoyed each others company.

most days, so Richard was in charge of keeping the farm going. He was usually awake at 5:00 in the morning and working hard until the school bus came.

Small family farms were common when Richard Bong was growing up.

Many farms had a tractor for plowing fields.

he gained from all of those hours plowing fields later made pushing an airplane into dives and rolls much easier.

Richard and his father loved hunting deer for the family dinner table.