Aug 10, 2021 8:00 AM
Colonel Lee F. Lange, USMC (Ret)
Honoring the Fallen

 

One of the most important and least known duties in the Marine Corps and in all the other US military branches is the Casualty Assistance Call Officer. Headquarters Marine Corps utilizes a nationwide network to identify Marine officers and senior enlisted members for this duty. Once assigned, these Marines' primary duties is to notify the next of kin of fallen Marines. Once notification is made, these Marines are responsible for follow-up visits to explain military benefits and to provide military honors if requested by the family. These assignments are some of the most difficult in the Marine Corps. Every Marine in this duty understands this is the very least they can do to honor the service of fallen Marines and help families deal with the loss of their loved one. "Honoring the Fallen" explains this process and why it is so important to those serving and their families. 

Col Lange is a 1970 graduate of the University of Southern California and was commissioned a second Lieutenant following completion of Officer Candidate School in May 1971. His 30 year career as a Marine artillery officer included a wide range of operational, staff, and command billets in each of the Marine Corps’s four divisions.  Col Lange was involved in the evacuation of Vietnam in 1975 and served on the staff of the 2d Marine Division during the first Gulf War in 1991. Col Lange also served more than eight years as a manpower planner at Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C. 

 

After retiring from the Marine Corps in 2001, he joined the staff of the Military Officers Association of America where he became the lead lobbyist on military surviving spouse issues in the Government Relations Department.  In June 2006 Col Lange was named as the Deputy Director for the Council and Chapter Affairs Department and became the Director in December 2006. Col Lange Retired from MOAA in January 2013 and now resides in Anthem, Arizona.