Medal of Honor: Richard Ira Bong, World War II, October 10 – November 15, 1944
They called him the “Ace of Aces.” Over the jungles of Borneo and the skies above Leyte, Major Richard Bong defied orders, defied odds, and brought down eight enemy planes in one month—because that’s what warriors do.
October 10, 2025
Name: Richard Ira Bong
Rank: Major
War: World War II (Air Mission)
Date of Action: October 10 – November 15, 1944
Unit: U.S. Army Air Corps
Entered Service At: Poplar, Wisconsin
Born: September 24, 1920, Poplar, Wisconsin
Summary of Action
By late 1944, Major Richard Ira Bong had already become a legend in the Southwest Pacific. The quiet farm boy from Wisconsin, flying his P-38 Lightning “Marge,” had outflown every enemy ace Japan could field. His superiors grounded him, assigning him as a gunnery instructor—too valuable, they said, to lose.
But Bong wasn’t built for the sidelines. Between October 10 and November 15, 1944, he repeatedly volunteered for combat patrols over Borneo and Leyte—some of the most dangerous skies of the Pacific campaign. Japanese anti-aircraft fire shredded the air and Zeros swarmed the clouds, but Bong hunted them relentlessly, his twin-engine Lightning slicing through the smoke.
In a span of just five weeks, Bong downed eight enemy aircraft, bringing his tally to 40 confirmed victories—the highest in U.S. history. He was the embodiment of cool precision and daring aggression, balancing the calm of a teacher with the instincts of a predator.
Major Bong’s courage, skill, and defiance of risk became the stuff of legend—an aviator who flew not for glory, but because others still needed him in the fight.
Medal of Honor Citation
BONG, RICHARD I.
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: Over Borneo and Leyte, 10 October to 15 November 1944. Entered service at: Poplar, Wis. Birth: Poplar, Wis. G.O. No.: 90, 8 December 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty in the Southwest Pacific area from 10 October to 15 November 1944. Though assigned to duty as gunnery instructor and neither required nor expected to perform combat duty, Maj. Bong voluntarily and at his own urgent request engaged in repeated combat missions, including unusually hazardous sorties over Balikpapan, Borneo, and in the Leyte area of the Philippines. His aggressiveness and daring resulted in his shooting down 8 enemy airplanes during this period.
