[Published in the Golden Eagles web site April 2011] Lieutenant Colonel Harold A. “Hap” Langstaff, USMC (Ret.) made his final takeoff on Friday, April 8, 2011, in Sacramento, CA at age 90. Hap Langstaff was born February 2, 1921, in Pittsburgh, PA. He completed two years at the University of Michigan from the fall of 1939 through the spring of 1941 before being called into military service. While at Michigan he played on the Michigan football team and roomed with Bob Ufer, his best friend from Mount Lebanon High School outside of Pittsburgh, PA. They were both members of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
Hap joined the Marine Corps in June 1941, entered flight training in September, and was designated a naval aviator on July 23, 1942. After completing additional fighter training and carrier qualifications, he reported to VMF-215, 1st Marine Air Wing and flew F4F’s and F4U’s in support of the Guadalcanal Campaign. He flew 113 combat missions from April 1943 – March 1944, and was credited with shooting down three Japanese Zeros in the Solomons. Hap was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and eight Air Medals for his heroic actions. Following a tour back in the States, he returned to the Pacific with VMF-321 flying F6F’s aboard the U.S.S. Puget Sound, and took part in the Japanese Occupation from August 1945 – February 1946.
During the six years ashore following WWII, he completed his B.S. degree from the University of Michigan and received a Masters Degree from Stanford University. In addition to his studies, he completed a tour with VMF-114. In 1952 Hap returned to combat in Korea where he flew 75 combat missions with VMF-311 in F9F-5’s.
Hap commanded VMF-314 in ’56-’57, and VMF-115 from ’57-’59. While commanding VMF-314 he flew as a member of the squadron aerial gunnery team that won the All-Navy/Marine Weapons meet. The squadron also won the Commandant’s Trophy. While commanding VMF-115, the squadron deployed to Formosa for six months following the Quemoy Incident and provided night and all-weather patrols along the Chinese coast.
Lt. Col. Hap Langstaff served as the Director of Aviation Technical Training in the Division of Aviation, Headquarters, USMC in Washington, D.C. from ’59 -’62, and retired from active duty in June 1962. He moved his family from Washington to Sacramento, CA where he worked as a project manager at Aerojet General Corporation for 25 years until he retired on January 30th, 1987. One of the projects he worked on while at Aerojet was the Polaris Missile program.
Hap was an aggressive and skilled fighter pilot who led by example. He flew over 6400 accident-free hours in an era when this accomplishment was a rare exception, which included combat operations in two wars. He was an active and proud member of the Golden Eagles since 2000. We have sadly lost another of our honored WWII and Korean War heroes.
(The Golden Eagles Website is: http://epnaao.com/OVERVIEW.htm)