Bong's ability as a fighter pilot was recognized while he was training in northern California. He was commissioned a
second lieutenant and awarded his pilot wings on January 19, 1942. His first assignment was as an instructor (gunnery) pilot at Luke Field, Arizona, from January to May 1942. His first operational assignment was on May 6 to the
49th Fighter Squadron (FS),
14th Fighter Group at
Hamilton Field,
California, where he learned to fly the twin-engine
Lockheed P-38 Lightning. On June 12, 1942, Bong flew very low ("buzzed") over a house in nearby
San Anselmo, the home of a pilot who had just been married. He was cited and temporarily grounded for breaking flying rules, along with three other P-38 pilots who had looped around the
Golden Gate Bridge on the same day. For looping the Golden Gate Bridge, flying at a low level down
Market Street in San Francisco, and blowing the clothes off of an Oakland woman's clothesline, Bong was reprimanded by
General George C. Kenney, commanding officer of the
Fourth Air Force, who told him, "If you didn't want to fly down Market Street, I wouldn't have you in my Air Force, but you are not to do it any more and I mean what I say." Kenney later wrote, "We needed kids like this lad." He also was made to do that woman's laundry or any other chore. In all subsequent accounts, Bong denied flying under the Golden Gate Bridge. Nevertheless, Bong was still grounded when the rest of his group was sent without him to England in July 1942. Bong then transferred to another Hamilton Field unit,
84th Fighter Squadron of the
78th Fighter Group. From there, Bong was sent to the
Southwest Pacific Area. Bong was then flown overseas as a passenger aboard a B-24 Liberator from Hawaii via Hickam Field to Australia. Upon arrival Bong was assigned to a newly formed P-38 fighter unit, the 17th Fighter Squadron (Provisional). By November 1942, Bong was transferred to the 49th Fighter Group (49th FG), 9th Fighter Squadron (9th FS). "The Flying Knights" were flying the
P-40 Warhawk, and were famous for their aerial defense of
Darwin from March 1942 to August 1942. Afterward, the 9th Fighter Squadron was one of two units in the 5th Air Force selected for conversion to the P-38 Lightning. Bong was among a group of new pilots in the South-West Pacific Area (SWPA) with experience flying the new twin-engine fighter, and they helped these pilots convert from the P-40 Warhawk and P-39 Airacobra to the P-38 Lightning. In November, while the squadron waited for delivery of the scarce P-38s, Bong and other 9th FS pilots were reassigned temporarily to fly missions and gain combat experience with the 39th Fighter Squadron,
35th Fighter Group, based in
Port Moresby,
New Guinea. On December 27, Bong claimed his initial aerial victory, shooting down a
Mitsubishi A6M "Zero", and a
Nakajima Ki-43 "Oscar" over Buna (during the
Battle of Buna-Gona). For this action, Bong was awarded the
Silver Star. Bong rejoined the 9th FS, by then equipped with P-38s, in January 1943; the 49th FG was based at
Schwimmer Field near Port Moresby. In April, he was promoted to first lieutenant. On July 26, Bong claimed four Japanese fighters over
Lae, in an action that earned him the
Distinguished Service Cross. In August, he was promoted to captain. In March another pilot was flying Bong's aircraft when it suffered engine failure and crashed in New Guinea, after the pilot, who survived, had bailed out. The approximate crash site is known, and the remains of the aircraft were to be searched for by the Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin and the WWII historical preservation group Pacific Wrecks in 2024. On May 24 of that year, the groups released a statement in which they announced that the crash site had been found with wreckage bearing the serial number of Bong's aircraft. On April 12, Captain Bong shot down his 26th and 27th Japanese aircraft, surpassing
Eddie Rickenbacker's American record of 26 credited victories in
World War I. Soon afterward, he was promoted to major by General Kenney and dispatched to the United States to see
General "Hap" Arnold, who gave him a leave. He participated in numerous public relations activities, such as promoting the sale of
war bonds. ==Death==