Museum, historical group launch search for wreckage of ace pilot Richard Bong’s crashed plane

SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin museum and an historical group are launching a search for the wreckage of ace pilot Richard Bong’s plane. Minnesota Public Radio reports that the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior and the nonprofit World War II historical preservation group Pacific Wrecks announced the search on Friday. Bong, who grew up in Poplar, is credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft. Another pilot was flying the plane, nicknamed Marge in honor of Bong’s girlfriend, Marjorie Vattendahl, in 1944 when it crashed in what is now known as Papua New Guinea. Pacific Wrecks founder Justin Taylan plans to lead the search for the wreckage beginning in May.