A piece of a Lightning P-38 fighter plane flown by Richard Bong was recovered from a jungle crash site in Papua New Guinea and returned to the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin. Richard Bong was one of America’s greatest fighter pilots during World War II. He was credited with 40 aerial victories against the Japanese military. General Douglas MacArthur presented him with the Medal of Honor in December 1944. He named his iconic P-38 after his fiancée, Marjorie Ann Vattendahl (“Marge”), and painted her face on the nose of the plane. Bong’s P-38 Lightning, which was flown by another pilot (Thomas Malone), crashed on a mission in March 1944 on a hillside in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. Bong was not in the plane; Malone managed to parachute out safely and was rescued. The wreckage of the P-38 aircraft was located in 2024 by Justin Taylan of Pacific Wrecks. Continue reading for more details.