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Submit- Full
name
LANG, Robert J - Date of
birth
1919 -
Age
unknown - Place of
birth
Chouteau County, Montana -
Hometown
Chouteau County, Montana
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-683555 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
578th Bombardment Squadron,
392nd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
19 May 1944 - Place of
death
Near Gevensleben, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| M | 15 | 11 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Walter E. Lang (father)
Josephine M. (Larance) Lang (mother)
Margaret J. Lang (sister)
Benjamin E. Lang (brother)
Lois G. Lang (sister)
Alyce Lang (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-95060 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Destination: Brunswick, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the industrial area
MACR: 4925
More information
2nd Lt Robert J. Lang graduated from Fort Benton High School in 1937 and was a construction painter.He joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army at Fort Missoula, Montana on 18 September 1940.
A returning crew eyewitness stated that the aircraft was attacked from the tail position which forced it into a spin from which it later recovered, no parachutes were seen. German ground report stated that the bodies of seven crew members were found dead in the wreckage. Others had likely jumped. In fact all ten crew members were killed.
Lt Lang was initially buried at the village cemetery of Gevensleben on 20 May 1944.
Lt Lang was a Native American of the Cree and Blackfeet Tribe.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, Raf Dyckmans, www.B24.net, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / 1900/1930 Census
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, 392nd Bomb Group, Fort Benton High School 1937