An ace is a fighter pilot who scores five or more aerial victories. Who is the top American ace?

Richard Bong scored 40 aerial victories against the Japanese during WWII while flying the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. He was awarded the Medal of Honor among other medals. And he survived WWII only to be killed while testing a Lockheed P-80 jet aircraft soon after the war ended.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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18 Comments

Tom Knox

Lawanta , the P-38 Lightning was not a jet. It was a piston-engine driven aircraft.

Marianne Frederick Halterman

What about Brady "Fuel" Augustin, please?

Lawanta

The Richard Bong Veterans Historical Center is in Superior, WI. It contains war relics, military vehicles and a restored P-38 Lightning jet. My dad was a big fan of his, so I took him and mom there once to see it 😃

Lawanta

Robert Oldenburg, yes it is!

Pamology

Everyone knows it’s Snoopy

Terry Masterson

The P-38 Lightning was the big giveaway. If I recall correctly, he was the only ace that flew the P-38.

finsfone

He survived all of that in the war, only to die in that much less dangerous way? That is a shame. He certainly served his country and was a hero!

David Heinz

We have gone camping at Bong many many times and love it. Lots of camping sites there.

Robert Oldenburg

Is this who Bong recreational area near Kenosha and Racine Wisconsin is named after. Driving by on I94 you can see the signs for it. Many people, my kids and my wife’s kids including, would get a snicker every time seeing the signs.