Citizen Staff
Raymond Lange's military career spanned two wars and two service branches. His time in the military yielded lots of memories, and had a lasting impact on his life.
Editor’s Note — In honor of Veterans Day, the Daily Citizen is running a series of stories about local veterans.
It was two days before Christmas in 1943 when Raymond Lange was drafted.
He was 18. Given the choice of joining the Army or the Navy, Lange chose to join the Navy. Born in Columbus, the son of a World War I veteran, Lange was sent to boot camp before his high school graduation. His father picked up his diploma for him.
His boot camp and training took him across the United States, from Oregon where his ship was made, to San Diego, to Rhode Island for small arms training, and a stint in the Chesapeake Bay to get acquainted with the ship.
“Our ship did not draw a lot of water,” Lange said of the LS355 he served on as a gunner’s mate. “I operated a 20mm ship machine gun.”
His ship, with 78 men on board, protected bigger ships and relied on them for supplies.
“We were like a parasite, we had to get all our ammo and food from bigger ships,” Lange said.
His crewmates nicknamed him “Chick.”
“It stuck with me,” Lange said.
His first battle was at Iwo Jima. His ship went in ahead of the Marines to fire on the beach. He said they got within 1,500 yards of the shore.
“They shot some mortars at us, but they didn’t hit us,” Lange said
He said that his ship was sent back to the beach (where the original landing was later that afternoon) to tow out wrecked landing crafts so supplies could be brought in. His ship hauled the crafts out to deep water and cut them loose.
After Iwo Jima, his ship was sent to Okinawa.
He witnessed a destroyer get hit by a suicide plane and his ship picked up survivors.
“It went down fast,” Lange said. “They were covered in oil... in shock.”
When World War II ended, he was promoted to chief gunner’s mate. His ship was sent to the China Sea to work with mine sweepers. The mines were cut loose by the sweepers and his ship shot them to set them off.
Lange spent 19 months on the ship. His last day in the Navy was May 9, 1946.
“I’ve seen a lot of islands in the Pacific,” Lange said.
After his service, Lange went to work in Columbus. He joined the Air Force with a friend in 1952 because he “wanted to see more of the world.”
Lange worked as a staff sergeant and communication center specialist in the Air Force, working with teletype and switchboards. He spent 30 months in Japan and was stationed at an Air Force base in Labrador during his career in the Air Force. His service ended in 1961.
Lange married in 1964 and adopted wife Betty’s three children. Two followed him into the service. One joined the Air Force and another the Navy.
Lange said he would like to meet other veterans who served at Iwo Jima.