Saying Goodbye To a Son Of Marco

On Saturday, July 22, a number of Marco Island residents came together to pay their respects to a man whom they admired. Although not born or raised here, “Jim” Lang was truly a “son of Marco Island.” He was as much a part of the fabric which makes this island such a wonderful place to live as he was a great American Patriot.

Born and brought up in Ohio, Jim was called upon to serve his nation during a very traumatic time in our nation’s history. He did so with great honor and valor, serving in the Army’s 101st Airborne in some of the fiercest battles of the early days of the Vietnam conflict.

“Jim did not flaunt his patriotism or his past bravery in battle. He would hardly speak a word about it, and that says something special about the man he was. On occasion, he and I would start to share some of our own experiences, but like most of the men I served with, it was in reference to the bravery and efforts demonstrated by others. That demonstrated the essence of the man I called a friend,” said Jim Lane, another Marco resident and Vietnam Veteran who served valiantly in the Seventh Air Cavalry.

Medals did not mean much to Lang, not as much as the relationships he established during his service. Those were certainly on display the day the city unveiled the original Veterans Community Park on 11-11-11 on Veterans Day as both the man who served as his company commander in Vietnam gave the remarks at that event, in addition to one of the men who served with Lang the day he was wounded so many years before. 

Lang looked back on those days as some of the most formative of his life of which he was so proud.

Retirement brought him to Marco Island after a remarkably successful career in the automotive parts business with his brother, but he was not ready to sit under a palm tree and read the paper. Instead, he answered an ad in the local paper, leading him to another career and being promoted to Customer Service Manager for the Marco Island Water/Wastewater Department.

Ken Honecker, who served four years as a local City Councilor and came to know Lang in that position, described him as an excellent addition to the city staff. “Jim was one of the hardest working people in city hall. If a citizen came to Jim seeking an answer to a question or a problem, Jim would work to turn over every stone to find him an answer or explain to him what the real issue was. Jim cared about his job and doing what was right for the customer. That is why he ran such a successful business in Ohio,” said Honecker.

Lang was the same way with the Veterans who elected him several times as their Post Commander with the local VFW. He went out of his way to assist them with any of their needs and ensure they would get the answers to those questions for issues confronting them, no matter what the origin.

Lang worked on various committees and served on other county advisory committees, but one of his greatest joys came in the yearly trips with his grandkids. Many of us got quite a kick out of watching Jim fix up the large van in which he would take those kids for a take-off on the “Griswold Family Vacation” movies. Jim took the ribbing in stride and laughed along with us as he drove down the street for another great adventure that he would talk about for the next year.

Jim’s sense of humor and dedication went way beyond that of many men I have met over my years here. He was always a great inspiration to me, whether it was in his efforts to make our community a better place to live or as a dedicated supporter of Veterans’ issues. He was a loving and dedicated son, husband, father, and grandad and will be missed.