Mission Marge Goal: To uphold the legacy of the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center while building lasting relationships in Papua New Guinea
Your gift fuels our humanitarian efforts and an all-new exhibit, which will bring this once-lost chapter of history to life, uniting wartime heroism with modern discovery to inspire future generations.
The project started when we wondered what became of the original “Marge”. Sent some feelers out to WWII and military archives and historians. We connected with Justin Taylan from Pacific Wrecks in September 2023.
The Bong Board was supportive of partnering with Pacific Wrecks to send an expedition
Announced on March 24, 2024 (80th anniversary of the crash of “Marge”) that we were sending a team to PNG to attempt to locate the site. We held an event open to the public and local press.
May 1, 2024: Team (Justin Taylan, Joel Carillet, and Steve Kleiman) left for PNG on May 1, 2024. They flew into Port Moresby where they tested Starlink equipment and visited NMAG (National Museum and Art Gallery). They visited several other “Bong related” sites (the airfield where he was stationed)
They flew to Madang where they gathered supplies and prepped for the trip
They loaded and took a boat to the Rai Coast, about 4 hours from Madang, where they met up with local landowners, who knew of two crash sites that could potentially be “Marge”
They walked to the first one and it was a Japanese plane
They spent the night in the village and got up early the next morning to start the trek to the crash site.
May 17th 2024: They reached the crash site and found lots of debris. They confirmed it was an American plane, then found proof that it was a P-38 airplane, then found more proof that it was the correct model, a P-38J airplane. Finally they found the final confirmation via the 993 serial number on the wingtip that it was without a doubt “Marge”
Via Starlink, the news was quickly conveyed to the US. Staff and volunteers joined Justin and the villagers via Zoom for a “Sing-Sing” celebration when the expedition team arrived back in the village.
June 11, 2024: Live event held at the Bong Center with the Pacific Wrecks team attending via Zoom. Also attending virtually was Smithsonian Curator Russell Lee and Carlo Capua, Chair of Sister Cities International.
November 2024: Bong Museum invited Alois Kuaso, the Director of NMAG and Justin Taylan from Pacific Wrecks to Superior in November 2024 to attend the gala and to allow him to inspect the museum. We presented him with Richard Bong artifacts for the museum as well as a proposal to take back to his board to form an official “Sister Museum” relationship. Our aim is to work together on shared exhibits and expertise.
May/June 2025: Justin returned solo to PNG. He went to NMAG first and talked to Alois Kuaso, and was able to get the signed agreement from the museum giving us permission to get a piece of the plane. He also presented an exhibit on behalf of the Bong Center and Pacific Wrecks on Richard Bong and Mission Marge.
Justin made a trip to the village to re-establish a connection with the landowners.
July 2025: Briana Fiandt, Curator at the Bong Veterans Center went to PNG as part of the Sister City delegation. She met with the governor of Madang Proince and the staff of NMAG. She and the rest of the delegation got a sneak peek at the new hangar that opened in September 2025.
March 2026 The Bong Center worked with local filmmaker Mike Scholtz to make a documentary about Mission Marge, which premiered at Zietgist Theater in Duluth, MN, Saturday, March 28th. We plan on using the documentary as a vehicle to inform the rest of the world about our efforts.
The Bong Center is currently selling Mission Marge merchandise to raise money. Additionally, we are asking for donations towards Mission Marge. Click here to see additional information about the premiere on our events page.
If you’d like to see the documentary, please click here! If free to watch on YouTube.
We are selling Bookplates at the Bong Center to raise money for the school, and with the purchase of each bookplate, you’ll be purchasing a book for the school. Upon purchase, we ask that you sign it before returning it to have us install it into the books at the school.
As of April 2026, the Bong Center and Pacific Wrecks agreed on a plan to execute phase three of Mission Marge! The plan goes as follows:
Additional announcements regarding expedition timing, participating partners, and public engagement opportunities will be released as preparations continue.
July 9th– There are three major plans for this date
July 11th-12th – The Duluth Air Show will be happening for the 26th time. The Bong Center will have a table set up with plenty of merchandise. Additionally, thanks to the Bong Center, there will be a P-38 “23 Skidoo” at the airshow!
July 20-26th EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) Air Show. We will have one booth, which will be located at table 4090 in Hangar A. At that air show, we will also be presenting at Theater In The Woods.
Fall 2026– We are also working on an animated film featuring a Bandicoot. While performing the site survey, the team startled a bandicoot, which quickly scurried away from the area.
From this moment, the bandicoot was made the impromptu mascot of the mission, and since then has been used as our approach to tell the Mission Marge story to a younger audience.
Ironically, in PNG, Bandicoots are primarily viewed as a crucial traditional and consistent source of protein for local communities. They are highly regarded as a hunted food resource rather than a pest.
After all steps from Phase 3 are completed by fall 2026, we plan on focusing on raising funds for our “Mission Marge” exhibit. We are repurposing our changing exhibit gallery space at the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center. Currently it houses the Commemorative Air Force Lake Superior Squadron exhibits however, we are excited to exchange it with our Mission Marge narrative. If you our your company would like to have naming rights on this exhibit, please contact John Gidley at the Bong Center.
Our Sister Cities committee is continuing to meet and explore how to build the relationship.
Pictured below is a mock-up of the Mission Marge Exhibit.
Richard Bong, America’s most daring ace, fearlessly took on the might of the Japanese forces, carving his name into the annals of history with each victorious mission. With his beloved Marge’s photo emblazoned on his plane, he became an icon.
In late 1944, another pilot, Lt. Tom Malone found himself at the controls of “Marge,” tasked with a weather reconnaissance mission. A malfunctioning engine forced him to bailout and “Marge,” the cherished P-38 Lightning, met her end on a plantation in New Guinea.
For over eight decades, what remains of “Marge” has been a mystery. Now we have joined forces with Pacific Wrecks to unveil the mysteries hidden in that distant land.
If you’d like to learn more about America’s Ace of Aces, click here!
