Guam airmen honor America’s ‘Ace of Aces’ with Mission Marge

Andersen Air Force Base, Guam — A recovered wingtip from “Marge,” the Lockheed P-38 Lightning flown by U.S. Army Air Forces Maj. Richard Bong, arrived on U.S. soil for the first time in more than eight decades on July 13, marking a milestone in an international effort to preserve a tangible piece of World War II aviation history.

Transported by the Wisconsin Air National Guard, the artifact is part of Mission Marge, a collaboration between the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center and the nonprofit Pacific Wrecks. The operation brought together members of Bong’s family, the WI ANG, Pacific Wrecks, the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery, and local communities, whose representatives formed a Mission Marge delegation that stopped at Andersen.

“The leading World War II ace, Richard Bong, was born and raised in Poplar, Wisconsin,” said Brig. Gen. Adria Zuccaro, the WI ANG chief of staff-air. “The Wisconsin Air National Guard, who’s a state partner, joined in on this really exciting historical moment.”

The wingtip’s recovery traces back to research and a field expedition in Papua New Guinea earlier this year. Bong’s aircraft, named for his girlfriend and future wife, Marjorie Ann “Marge” Vattendahl, crashed in 1944 and remained undisturbed for decades. Investigators with Pacific Wrecks used archival material and on-the-ground documentation to verify the site in May, photographing thousands of images and identifying distinctive P-38 components that pointed to the famed ace’s fighter.

“Where the red paint had faded away, below it, was a black stenciled ‘993,’” said Justin Taylan, founder of Pacific Wrecks, during a briefing for Airmen at Andersen’s Sunrise Conference Center. “Finding the serial number on that wreckage was the sign that we had waited for, that this is Richard Bong’s plane.”

Zuccaro and Wisconsin Air National Guard aircrew participated in the recovery and moved the wingtip aboard an existing flight returning from Papua New Guinea through the National Guard’s State Partnership Program. Andersen served as the artifact’s first U.S. stop; it will continue to Hawaii before heading to Wisconsin.

Bong’s nephew, Mitchell Erickson, took questions from attendees after the briefing, reflecting on the link between today’s Airmen and the Air Force’s most celebrated World War II fighter pilot. “Seeing a piece of your history come through, especially the aircraft of the ‘Ace of Aces,’ is significant for Airmen today,” Erickson said.

The wingtip is scheduled for a public unveiling at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture Oshkosh in 2026 before joining the permanent collection at the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin. Organizers say the display will help preserve Bong’s legacy and educate future generations about the demands and achievements of air combat in the Pacific during World War II.

“For us that are currently serving, I hope what you take from this is that people do remember that our service is important, and it’s not only important for those who serve, but it’s important to your families,” Zuccaro said. “You can take this as a demonstration that 82 years later there is still family that this is incredibly important to.”