Originally Posted by WizardOfBoz

dedhed, I actually hung out with friends at that park when in High School. Later I learned that Major Richard Bong was known as the Army Air Corps "Ace of Aces". He shot down over 40 enemy planes, confirmed, and was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was pulled stateside, as his high profile made it unwise to risk having the enemy shoot him down, and was made a test pilot.

While I sure didn't know it when I was, well, bonging along at the park, the man was a national hero. His death was reported on the front page of all major newspapers, which is remarkable as news of his death shared the day with another major story: the first atomic bomb being detonated over Hiroshima.