Reporters closely followed Richard Bong’s progress in the race of aces. Bong (center) was killed testing a P-80 jet on the same day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima—the one time the wartime press had a bigger story than the exploits of America’s top fighter ace.

For World War II Pilots, the Race to Be an Ace Sometimes Turned Deadly

When the line between duty and ambition began to blur.

Page 1 of 1