Clarence H. Langel

World War II

Clarence Langel was born on June 20, 1919, near Templeton to Henry and Margaret (Wittrock) Langel. He attended rural school near Manning. Clarence registered for the military draft on October 16, 1940, and indicated he was employed as a farmer.

Clarence was inducted into the US Army Air Forces at Fort Des Moines, IA on December 2, 1941, five days before the Pearl Harbor attack. He was assigned serial number 37 110 935. He arrived at Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, TX on December 20, 1941, in the aftermath of the December 7 attack. After basic training, Clarence stayed at Sheppard Field as a part of the 313th Technical School Squadron. He graduated from the Air Corps Technical School on May 7, 1942, as an aircraft technician.

Clarence moved on to additional training at Will Rogers Field in Oklahoma City, OK. By October 19, 1943, he was transferred to Drew Field near Tampa, FL where he was assigned to the 53rd Bomb Squadron of the 46th Bomb Group. Clarence was on furlough in Iowa from Charoltte, NC on April 18, 1944. He had now been promoted to Staff Sergeant. On June 7, 1944, Clarence and his unit were sent to Panama.

Army Air Corps operations in the Caribbean Sea and Central America were conducted by the US Army Sixth Air Force. Clarence and his unit were part of this force. German submarines were active in this area and had sunk many Allied ships during the war. The mission of the 53rd Bomb Squadron was to conduct anti-submarine activities as well as to assure free traffic through the Panama Canal.

After 1942, the Germans focused their U-boat activity on the North Atlantic supply routes and activity in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico was reduced. Accordingly, the 53rd Bomb Squadron was disbanded in late 1944. Clarence remained in Panama and was assigned to similar duties with the 32nd Fighter Squadron. On November 29, 1944, he was promoted to Technical Sergeant (E-7 equivalent). Clarence stayed in Panama for the remainder of the war.

The Second World War ended in Europe on May 8, 1945, and in Japan on August 15, 1945. Clarence stayed in Panama until he returned to the US on December 3, 1945. He was discharged on December 7, 1945. He returned to Iowa and farmed with his father. He never married.

In 1963, his father died and Clarence took over the farm. He farmed until his retirement when he moved to Manning. He died in Manning on August 26, 2003 at age 84. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.