James Langland ’52

Retired intelligence specialist and Foreign Service officer James Langland ’52 died Aug. 18, 2014, in Alexandria, Virginia. He was 84.

Langland, a native of Holstein, Iowa, earned a B.A. in economics and business. He credited Cornell professor C.F. “Judge” Littel with instilling in him a devotion to public and international affairs. Langland served four years in the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps, and was stationed in Germany. Among the events he witnessed during his service in Europe were the Hungarian Uprising of October 1956 and the subsequent Soviet invasion. After leaving the Army he became a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. State Department and was posted to Vienna, Austria, and Khorramshahr, Iran. He earned his master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University in 1971 and became a civilian intelligence specialist with the Army, serving for 18 years in Germany, including postings in Stuttgart, Berlin, and Bremerhaven. He continued to serve as a senior regional desk officer for the Department of Defense until his retirement in 2009.

He is survived by his wife, Ila, and two daughters.