Expedition aims to find, document famous 'Marge' plane
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Mar. 25—SUPERIOR — Eighty years after it crashed in Papua New Guinea, an expedition is underway to find "Marge," the P-38 Lightning flown by "America's Ace of Aces" Richard I. Bong.
A partnership between the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center and the
nonprofit organization Pacific Wreck
s could reveal the plane's final resting place.
"After World War II, the Air Force turned over ownership of all military aircraft to the New Guinea people, so it belongs to them. Our primary goal is to document it with video and photographic footage," said Briana Fiandt, curator of collections and exhibits for the center.
The end goal is to create an exhibit telling the story of the plane and the expedition to find it. With the recent introduction of Starlink technology to New Guinea, the site exploration could even be streamed live.
"Of course, the technical challenge of a live event is probably more difficult than hacking your way through a jungle, so we're not setting a specific date yet," said Pacific Wrecks founder and organizer Justin Taylan, who has documented more than 1,000 plane wrecks.
He is excited at the prospect of finding Marge. The plane can be positively identified via its serial number, numbers stamped on its parts and visible markings like the red-tipped tail fins and decals.
"When I close my eyes and dream at night, I see a fragment of Marge's photograph or nose art or even the glue that adhered the decal, a fragment of the victory markings," Taylan said. "These are markings that do exist on other planes in New Guinea. I've seen them myself."
The current Marge displayed at the center is a real P-38 painted to replicate the famous fighter plane. The one that rested outside the Bong Memorial at the elementary school in Bong's hometown of Poplar? Also a replica. The
original Marge
had only a brief moment in the spotlight.
"It was very short-lived," Fiandt said. "It was built in December of '43 and sent to New Guinea in January of '44. Dick took possession of the plane in February and it crashed at the end of March, so it didn't have a long life."
With 27 victories racked up, Bong was on leave when the Marge plane crashed March 24, 1944. It was flown by 1st Lt. Thomas Malone.
"One of the plane's engines failed and he was able to eject before the crash," Fiandt said. "He survived and was found by the 32nd division (out of Wisconsin and Michigan) and returned to base."
It took luck and skill to escape a P-38, Taylan said.
"There was no ejection seat in World War II," he said.
Malone had to hit an emergency release hatch and flip the canopy back for the wind to rip off. Then he had to climb out of the cockpit and jump, trying not to hit one of the tail fins on the way back. Next came the jarring force when his primitive parachute opened, and the landing. Once on the ground, Malone had to prove to the soldiers he came across that he was not an enemy.
Then he had to face Bong's wrath.
"Apparently, he was upset his plane crashed," Fiandt said.
"The country of Papua New Guinea was the frontlines of World War II for all of 1943, '44, '45 and even to the very last days of World War II," Taylan said, and thousands of planes were left crashed or abandoned in New Guinea, a country roughly the size of California.
Some were destroyed by natural forces; others were removed for scrap metal or salvaged and recovered by museums and restorers. Many planes, especially those that are not as intact, remain.
"Hopefully, the area is remote enough and people have not removed the wreckage for scrap metal, and if that's the case, potentially there will be an amazing discovery to be made," Taylan said.
If successful, the expedition would be a "Hello world" moment connecting two communities half a world apart.
"What excites me also is this is not just our history as Americans, this is the history of Papua New Guinea and the people who live there," Taylan said. "There will be a village and a community of people who know about this as a plane crash but may not realize it's associated with arguably the most famous veteran of World War II, Richard Bong, and the legacy of him being the highest-scoring ace that the United States produced ever.
"So, potentially, the video will include them, and they will perhaps be able to make some new friends here in the Wisconsin area," Taylan said.
He plans to start the expedition in May. Visit
the Bong Center's
Facebook page
and
for more information.
