Nephew to honor WWII ace uncle Published June 6, 2003 By Staff Sgt. Robert Zoellner 33rd Fighter Wing Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- By simply doing his job, an F-15 Eagle pilot here finally has the opportunity to honor his hero and uncle, World War II ace Maj. Richard "Dick" Bong. Maj. James Bong, of the 33rd Operations Group, will lead a four-ship flyover at the Richard I. Bong World War II Heritage Center museum in Superior, Wis., on June 6 during the center's Heritage Festival."I'm very honored to be doing this flyby," James said. "All my family will be in attendance, and it means a lot to them as well."His uncle was a 40-kill fighter pilot who flew a Lockheed P-38 Lightning that he named "Marge," after his future wife. For his record of 40 kills, Dick earned the moniker "Ace of Aces" and was awarded the Medal of Honor by Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Bong remains the highest-scoring American ace of any conflict.Dick's legacy had always been a topic of conversation among aunts, uncles and cousins when James was younger. "I think it may have helped a little on my selection to attend Officer Training School," the younger Bong said. "But, most people don't even know I'm related."Although James and his family live here, his family in Wisconsin has been very involved in the museum project for which he will be doing the flyover. The event's organizers are very aware of his participation in the event."They asked the Air Force for me, in particular, to do the flyby," James said. "And they are the reason I'm going to be doing it."The "Ace" had a short military career with the Army Air Force from 1942 to 1944, and made major in just two years -- an accomplishment that can take 10 years today. On Aug. 6, 1945, the day the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, Dick was killed when the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star he was testing stalled and crashed on takeoff. He had flown more than 500 combat flying hours in 200 sorties. (Courtesy of Air Combat Command News Service)