Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center

For over 50 years, a memorial to Richard I. Bong was in place in Poplar, Wisconsin, about 15 miles east of the Twin Ports cities of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. It honored Dick Bong of Poplar, America’s leading Ace of all time, who piloted a P-38 Lightning through more than 200 missions over the Southwest Pacific in World War II and destroyed 40 enemy planes – the most by any United States pilot before or since. An open-air memorial complete with an aircraft was dedicated in the Village of Poplar in 1955. As Northern Wisconsin’s weather began to take a toll on the memorial’s P-38 the Bong P-38 Fund, Inc. was formed in 1988, with a goal to restore and preserve the Lightning. The aircraft was removed from the pylons and taken to the Minnesota Air National Guard Base at Duluth for restoration while funds were raised for a permanent facility. In 2003, the Richard I. Bong World War II Heritage Center opened in Superior. The name would later be changed to the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center to be more comprehensive of military service men and women from all conflicts since World War II. Today the Center not only preserves the stories of our Northland veterans but also works in concert with other organizations to support the veteran community.