The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Major (Air Corps) Richard Ira Bong (ASN: 0-433784), United States Army Air Forces, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 49th Fighter Group, V Fighter Command, Fifth Air Force, in action in the Southwest Pacific area from 10 October to 15 November 1944. Though assigned to duty as gunnery instructor and neither required nor expected to perform combat duty, Major Bong voluntarily and at his own urgent request engaged in repeated combat missions, including unusually hazardous sorties over Balikpapan, Borneo, and in the Leyte area of the Philippines. His aggressiveness and daring resulted in his shooting down eight enemy airplanes during this period.

During World War II, Richard Bong became a U.S. Army Air Forces ACE of ACEs, credited with shooting down 40 enemy aircraft in aerial combat. He received all of the Army’s top medals for heroism including the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, and two Silver Stars. He finished the war as the United States’ all-time “Ace of Aces” with a total of 40 victories. Six months after Lieutenant Bong returned home to a hero’s welcome, he was killed while test piloting the first Lockheed jet fighter plane.