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For over 50 years, a memorial to Richard I. Bong was in place in Poplar, Wisconsin, about 15 miles east of the Twin Ports cities of Duluth and Superior. It honored Dick Bong of Poplar, America's leading Ace of all time, who piloted a P-38 Lightning through more than 200 missions over the Southwest Pacific in World War II and destroyed 40 enemy planes - a record that will never be equaled.
He was brought home for his safety December 1944 but died tragically August 6, 1945, in a test flight of an experimental P-80 jet.
After his funeral, a group of businessmen and residents of Poplar formed the Richard Ira Bong Memorial Foundation, Inc., with the goal of raising funds for a memorial which would include a P-38 like those flown by Dick.
Memorial funds were raised with the help of the Veterans of Wisconsin and other interested groups and individuals; the Richard Ira Bong American Legion Post #435 of Superior acquired a P-38 from the Air Force and donated it for the memorial.
 Funds raised, however, were not sufficient to construct a separate building, and the Bong Foundation merged resources with the expanding school district and the Village of Poplar to build a new gymnasium, a cafeteria, and an adjoining small museum room honoring Dick Bong. The memorial was completed and dedicated in 1955 by General George C. Kenney, Dick's commanding officer.
People from all over the nation and many foreign countries have visited the site to pay respects to the modest Wisconsin farm boy who became a legend.
The Bong Memorial Room in Poplar was closed when the school building was sold to private interests. The Wisconsin State Historical Marker commeorating Dick Bong is still in place on Poplar's Main Street and the Bong gravesite is located not far away south of Highway 2. Many items from the original Memorial Room collecton are now in the collections of the Richard I. Bong WWII Heritage Center.
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