Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center Event
Join alumni and friends for a special event at the Bong Center!
Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center Event
Sunday, November 16
1 to 4 PM
305 E 2nd St
Superior, WI
Beginning at 1:00 pm, enjoy the museum at your leisure. The special archives will also be open, and a docent will be on hand to answer any questions.
Then, at 2:00 pm, Tom and Margaret Culbert will give a special presentation in the Pearl Harbor Theater. Light refreshments will also be served.
UW-Superior Alumni Margaret (’70) and Tom (’70) Culbert will speak on their military careers in Africa and Washington, D.C. Tom was a USAF Diplomat Pilot who served for over five years at U.S. embassies in Africa. Margaret was with Tom in Cairo, Egypt and Abidjan, Ivory Coast. She began her career as an Intelligence Officer for the Department of Defense specializing in Africa.
After duty in the Pentagon, Tom retired as a Lt Col and Margaret retired as a civilian Senior Executive Service SES2. Tom will also highlight his efforts to author and publish his book detailing World War II aviation efforts in Africa.
Price per person (ages 6+): $5 each
A special price for alumni and friends! Kids 5 and under are free.
The Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center opened in 2002 with the help of Bong’s former wife, Marge Bong Drucker. The exhibits honor local veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and other modern conflicts. The museum is dedicated to sharing and preserving their stories as well as passing on the legacy of a hometown hero, Dick Bong.
As a college student at the State Teachers College (now UW-Superior), he learned to fly in the Civilian Pilot Training program; at the age of 20 he became a flying cadet in the US Army Air Corps, in time for the entry of the United States into World War II.
Bong became America’s all-time Ace of Aces, downing 40 enemy planes in the Pacific theater of the war while flying P-38 fighter planes. His many decorations for outstanding skills and extraordinary courage included the Congressional Medal of Honor and every other medal besides the Purple Heart.
Major Bong was ordered home for his own safety as America’s Top Pilot. He quickly married his sweetheart, Marge, in Superior. ‘Marge’ was the name of his famous P-38 Lockheed Lightening, as Bong stated to her – “the most shot at girl in the Pacific!”. Only six short months later, Bong was killed test piloting the first Lockheed jet fighter plane in California.
