{
  "id": 148002,
  "title": "This American Pilot Downed 40 Enemy Aircraft During World War II. Researchers Discovered the Wreck of His Plane in a Pacific Jungle and Brought a Wing Back to His Home State",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/04/this-american-pilot-downed-40-enemy-aircraft-during-world-war-ii",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-04T20:33:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Smithsonian",
    "slug": "smithsonian",
    "url": "https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-american-pilot-downed-4o-enemy-aircraft-during-world-war-ii-researchers-discovered-the-wreck-of-his-plane-in-a-pacific-jungle-and-brought-a-wing-back-to-his-home-state-180989259/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Richard I. Bong, flying a plane decorated with a portrait of his future wife Marge, became America's highest-scoring \"ace\" and received a Medal of Honor",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}