Dick Bong: America’s Greatest Fighter Pilot

On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard "Dick" Bong was a farm boy who learned to fly and never stopped pushing the limits of what a pilot could do. Flying the P-38 Lightning, he downed forty enemy aircraft, making him the nation’s Ace of Aces and one of the most decorated WWII aviators in history. Yet behind the record was a quiet Midwestern pilot who wrote letters home, worried about his friends, and carried the weight of fame he never sought. The History Guy shares the story of how Major Richard Bong rose from his rural Wisconsin roots to the national hero we all know today.

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