John Henry Lang (1899–1970) was an American who served with the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and then with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

through

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the end of his career. He earned military awards and honors for heroic service from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan in the first half of the twentieth century.

Early life and education

John H. Lang was born in

Casselton, North Dakota Casselton is a city in Cass County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 2,479 at the 2020 census. making it the 20th largest city in North Dakota. Casselton was founded in 1876. The city is named in honor of George Washington Cass, ...

, in 1899. He attended local schools in

Felton, Minnesota Felton is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 177 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Minnesota State Highway 9 serves as a main ...

, and started working there.

Military career

In 1916 with the beginning of World War I, at the age of 17, Lang left North Dakota to enlist in the

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. After service in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the Canadian Engineers, Lang transferred to the

Canadian Black Watch , colors = , march = Quick: "Hielan' Laddie"Slow: "The Red Hackle" , mascot = , battles = Second Boer WarFirst World WarSecond World WarWar in Afgha ...

Infantry. He was seconded to the

Royal Highland Regiment The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

(the British Black Watch), with whom he participated in the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

in 1917 during

. He was awarded the British

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

(DSM) for his actions in that engagement. Upon his return from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

at the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Lang enlisted in the

. Lang served for most of his navy career in the China Fleet, where he was quartermaster in the ship's company of several

gunboats A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to shore bombardment, bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for troopship, ferrying troops or au ...

. In the 1920s, he was awarded the US Navy Cross and the Japanese Order of the Chrysanthemum for his heroism during a combined Japanese/US naval operation on the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

against

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

warlord forces. The Chinese had besieged the foreign diplomatic legations on the river. For his actions during and after the bombing of the USS ''Panay'' by Imperial Japanese forces in 1937, during Japan's conquest of China, Lang was awarded the Navy Cross for the second time. As Chief Quartermaster, he helped ensure wounded survivors were put aboard lifeboats and was one of the last men on the sinking ship. The Japanese planes strafed the marshes where survivors of the sinking had taken cover.Marino, James I. "Prelude to Pearl Harbor"
''Americans in WWII,'' February 2006, accessed 24 July 2011 Lang was wounded several times in this encounter. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Lang served with the commissioning crew of the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

USS ''Massachusetts'' and participated in the naval landings in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. He commanded a Landing Ship Tank (LST) until she was sunk in the invasion of the Admiralty Islands. He next served as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

of the

Underwater Demolition Team Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized non-tactical missions. They were predecessors of the navy's current SEAL teams. Their primary WWII func ...

(UDT) Number 2. He was directing the "Frogman" unit to remove a moored Japanese

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

on a reef off

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

when another mine nearby detonated. It killed several comrades and wounded Lang severely. After two years' recuperation, he was retired from the US Navy in the grade of Chief Warrant Officer.Edwards, 2010, pp. 186-191 After his death, at his request, his ashes were scattered on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. He is the uncle of

W. Patrick Lang Walter Patrick "Pat" Lang, Jr. (born May 31, 1940) is a commentator on the Middle East, a retired US Army officer and private intelligence analyst, and an author. After leaving uniformed military service as a colonel, he held high-level posts i ...

, a retired military officer, private intelligence analyst and author.

References

*Icenhower, Joseph B.; ''The Panay Incident, December 12, 1937'', Scholastic Library Publishing, 1971 *Perry, Hamilton Darby; ''The Panay Incident, Prelude to Pearl Harbor'', New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1969

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, John 1899 births 1970 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United Kingdom) United States Navy officers People from Cass County, North Dakota Frogman operations