George Charles Lang (April 20, 1947 – March 16, 2005) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.

Biography

Lang joined the Army from Brooklyn, New York, and by February 22, 1969, was serving as a

specialist four Specialist is a military rank in some countries’ armed forces. Two branches of the United States Armed Forces use the rank. It is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the United States Army, above private (PVT), private (PV2), and private ...

in Company A, 4th Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. During a firefight on that day, in Kiến Hòa Province, Republic of Vietnam, Lang single-handedly assaulted three enemy emplacements before being seriously wounded. He recovered from his wounds and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. Lang died of cancer at age 57 and was buried in the Cemetery of the Holy Rood, Westbury, New York.

Medal of Honor citation

Specialist Lang's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp4 Lang, Company A, was serving as a
squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...
leader when his unit, on a reconnaissance-in-force mission, encountered intense fire from a well fortified enemy bunker complex. Sp4 Lang observed an emplacement from which heavy fire was coming. Unhesitatingly, he assaulted the position and destroyed it with
hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
s and rifle fire. Observing another emplacement approximately 15 meters to his front, Sp4 Lang jumped across a canal, moved through heavy enemy fire to within a few feet of the position, and eliminated it, again using hand grenades and rifle fire. Nearby, he discovered a large cache of enemy ammunition. As he maneuvered his squad forward to secure the cache, they came under fire from yet a third bunker. Sp4 Lang immediately reacted, assaulted his position, and destroyed it with the remainder of his grenades. After returning to the area of the arms cache, his squad again came under heavy enemy rocket and automatic weapons fire from 3 sides and suffered 6 casualties. Sp4 Lang was 1 of those seriously wounded. Although immobilized and in great pain, he continued to direct his men until his evacuation was ordered over his protests. The sustained extraordinary courage and selflessness exhibited by this soldier over an extended period of time were an inspiration to his comrades and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, George C. 1947 births 2005 deaths Burials at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Military personnel from New York City United States Army soldiers Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor People from Flushing, Queens People from Seaford, New York Catholics from New York (state)

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References