As a military veteran, Ralph Langham has served and protected the United States with dignity and honor. Recently, Langham was applauded for his life’s work by being invited on an Honor Flight for veterans to Washington, D.C.

Ralph Langham grew up in a working class family in New York. “My friends and I were on the wrong side of the tracks, but in a good way,” Langham, 82, says with a laugh. He used to caddy for Babe Ruth, a man he said, “loved kids”, as well as Jack Benny and Ed Sullivan. But working, even at a young age, was nothing new for Langham, who, at the age of 13, used to put insulation up in attics. “That’s just how it was back then,” says Langham. “And it helped propel me forward.”

That led Langham to a storied (and quite successful) career in the military. He became a sharpshooter and won many medals for his precision. He quickly rose in the ranks in the US Army, becoming an official United States Army Captain with a career spanning several years.

After leaving the military, Langham worked in computer programming for IBM, retiring from the software giant in 1992. He was tapped to work for the National Security Association, “but at that time it was known as ‘No Such Agency’” Langham says with a laugh. He continued working in computer programming, but with a more high tech security spin. “I was part of the team that built a Computer Emergency Response Team for the federal government out at Carnegie Mellon,” adds the father of four, who moved to New Fairfield in 1973.

In recognition of his career with the military, Langham was recently invited on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. The Honor Flight Network celebrates America’s veterans by inviting them (all expenses paid) on a flight to the nation’s capital and to visit U.S. memorials, something that Langham was happy to be a part of. “I don’t know how it initially happened,” admits Langham of his invitation to fly to D.C. “I do command the American League in Carmel, N Y, but I believe my name got on a list and they asked me if I’d like to go.”

Of the experience, Langham said it was very emotional and moving. “When we got to the airport, there were close to 2,000 people waiting,” he says. After his first-class flight, he and several other invited veterans toured various monuments, and, in his words, “were treated like royalty.” A beautiful gala dinner followed, and then the veterans boarded return flights home — and again, a huge turnout of people were there to support and cheer on the veterans. “It was so emotional,” says Langham. “You wanted to cry, but you couldn’t.”

There have been so many highlights in Langham’s life, many of those pert aining to the military. But one that truly touched him, in addition to the Honor Flight, was when Langham participated in a Civil War reenactment. “One time, the soldiers asked me if I would command them, because they wanted an officer whom they could respect,” says Langham. “There is no greater honor than that.”

By Jennifer Parris