Army & Navy - HEROES: Bell Ringer

Sandy-haired, retiring Lieut. Richard R. Bong last week became the No. 1 American fighter pilot of the Southwest Pacific. Flying a twin-engined Lightning over Lae, he blasted down two Zeros and two Messerschmitts to boost his confirmed kills to 15.

Though he hates suggestions that he is a killer, twenty-two-year-old Dicks Bong has a simple but bloody explanation for his record. "I just get on their tails and blow them out of the sky." A magnificent shot and always eager for action, he has a fighting style all his own — tearing into combat regardless of all risks, spitting more lead...

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