Lang flag has flown high over Afghanistan and North Dakota

This is an article of one of my buddies that I hunt with. I haven't seen him since last August when he was home on leave from Afghanistan. It will be nice to see him home again.

Devils Lake, ND - Troy Lang of Devils Lake has been in the military for 26 years with different National Guard units. The 43-year-old son of Gene and Alpha Lang has been with an air defense unit from Grand Forks for the past year. He'll be coming home from Afghanistan next month after spending a year there. He'll be coming home to his own family flag that was flown over his company headquarters from Oct. 11-21 near Kabul. "Troy has always been a real military man,” his mother says. “We're all so proud of him.” Troy is married to the former Geralyn Martin, and both of them are Devils Lake High School graduates. They have five children and live in Fargo.

For letting the military fly their family flag in Afghanistan, Gene and Alpha were presented with a certificate of honor from Troy's unit and signed by a couple of company commanders. “The flag got kind of dirty when it was over there, but that's fine,” Alpha smiled. “We feel very honored.” When Troy and his military cohorts sent the flag back to Devils Lake recently, they also included a mini flag of Afghanistan and a small pin displaying both the American and Afghan flag. “This has been kind of a nice little deal now at Christmas,” Alpha smiled. “Especially since Troy won't be here.” “He's always been such a family man, but it's still hard to know he won't be here with us at Christmas.” Alpha said the family plans to save their Christmas festivities until early February when Troy can celebrate with them. She says his kids miss him dearly, and are planning to welcome him home with open arms. He has four boys and a girl. “One of them even saved in a little bag a tooth he had lost while dad was gone,” Alpha smiled.