David Goode Langley

Private First Class David Goode Langley was killed in action on July 7, 1944 in northern Italy during World War II.  He was 23 years old.

David Goode Langley was born on December 21, 1920 in Vance County, North Carolina, the son of Fletcher David Langley and Lula Canady Langley.

PFC Langley was deployed to the Italian Campaign in December, 1943 joining the 168th Infantry Regiment, 34th  Infantry Division.  Tasked with taking the “Gustav line” which was a heavily fortified German line spanning the entire peninsula above Naples, the division fought hard during January, 1944  through the weaving hills, freezing weather, and the rough Volturno River, capturing several key points along the way including Monte Pantano, Monte Chiaia, San Vittore, Monte Trochhio and the Rapido River. The division took on a series of hills leading up to Monte Casino, and attempted to assault the abbey itself but was forced backed from the heavy German resistance. Due to the brutal fighting of the Italian winter, the division was pulled off the line for rest in mid-February, 1944.

After rest and rehabilitation, the 34th Division landed in the Anzio beachhead on March 25 1944 maintaining defensive positions until the offensive of  May 23 when it broke out of the beachhead, took Cisterna, and raced to Civitavecchia and Rome. On June 4, 1944, the US Fifth Army under Lieutenant General Mark Clark entered Rome, making it the first Axis capital to fall to the Allies. In a campaign exacting a high price in casualties, the Fifth Army pushed German forces over 110 miles north of Rome by June 21 and reach the Arno River by July 23, 1944. PFC Langley was killed in action on July 7, 1944.

Private First Class David Goode Langley is buried in Rockbridge Cemetery, Henderson, North Carolina. 

Last edited: 31 May 2026