Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-08-07
Bong
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OOSHS
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his head. She said she did not
see Q parachute.
An instant later, Mrs. Zane said,
the plane exploded, catching the
pilot in the air.
Mrs. Zane and three men ran to
the vacant lot where the disinte-
grated ship crashed.
Residents in the crash area were
shaken by the explosion. One
woman, standing in her back yard
about $50 feet away, received burns
on her legs. Another woman. Mrs.
E, Young said the suction from the
speeding, out-of control plane
nearly knocked her to the floor, as
it passed over her home five block
from the crash site.
Flew Between Wires.
Another witness said the plane
flew between lanes of telephone and
high tension wires without touch
ing either.
The wiry, pug-nosed fighter pilot,
who had been testing P-80s for the
Army Technical Service Command
since July 8, knew he was in trouble
as soon as the plane took OF. He
radioed the control tower.
Suddenly, a puff of black smoke
belched from the worlds fastest
plane as Maj. Bong leveled OF In
fight. A Lockheed service mechanic,
Frank Bodenhamer, reported: 1.-THE
right wing tipped, the pilots escape
hatch came of and the plane nosed
over straight down. A column of
smoke went into the air for about
100 feet" The takeoh had been
normal, Mr.. Bodenhamer said.
Other witnesses said the plane
exploded with terrific roar which
shook the vicinity. Most of the
plane, and Maj. Bong's body. landed
in a vacant lot.
This was the end, then, for the
Poplar (Wis.) boy who had earned
26 decorations, including the Con-
gressional Medal of Honor and the
British Distinguished Flying Cross,
the latter presented to him by King
George. In addition to his 40 kills,
he had 9 probables in two years of
combat in the South Pacific, mostly
over New Guinea.
Entered Service in 1871.
Maj. Bong joined the air forces
in May, 194l. after attending Su-
perior tWis) State Teachers Col
lege, where he met his future wife,
Marjorie Ann Vattendahl. He re-
ceived his I'd lieutenant's wings
at Luke Field, Ariz., in January,
1912, and went overseas that fall.
In his baptism of fire on Deem
Der a, 1912, he knocked down Zero
and dive bomber over Burma. Fly
ing a P-38 named "Marge," the for
mer choir boy surpassed Eddie Rick
enbacker's World War record of rs
enemy aircraft downed in combat
and kept right on.
The Medal of Honor was presented
to Maj. Bong on Leyte Island by
Gen. Douglas Macarthur on De-
cember Z, 1914.
The presentation was made when
the flyer had 80 planes to his credit,
including the last eight rJap&nese
aircraft he had shot down while
serving as an instructor" in sup
port of the reinvasion of the Philip
pines.
Before he went home for Christ
mas, the ace bagged two more. The
last on December II.
The youthful-looking Maj. Bong
has said he could have shot down
rs planes IF had leaned to shoot
right"
He once said his biggest thrill was
trying to spin a Cub plane, and
when tried, I couldn't do It,"
When the war is over, he added,
II would like q plane with a top
speed of 125 to $50 miles per hour"
His sister, Media Bong. works in
the stenographic department of a
Long Beach aircraft factory.
AS a boy, she said, he was always
interested in airplanes and more
airplanes."
He would get fascinated when
he saw an airplane in the sky" she
added. His eyes would get very
blue and he'd be in sort Of q day
dream until the plane went out Of
his sight"
He and Marjorie vattendahl were
married last February 10 in Supe-
rior. They honeymooned in Holly
wood, where they settled down after
Maj. Bong was assigned to the Air
Technical Command.
Grounded temporarily while tour
ing air gunnery schools. Mai. Bong
told newsmen with a grin:
Il guess they don't want me killed
or.
His wife last night said he thought
the P-S0 was asgreat ship. At din
ner with friends Sunday night,
mention was made Of q Jet plane