The Marlborough
Historical Society

    John was born the 9th of August 1917 in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the second of four children born to John and Jane Langelier.  He was a 1934 graduate of the Marlborough High School where he starred on the football team. Following his graduation, he worked in the shoe industry and lived with his parents at 85 Warren Avenue in Marlborough. In 1942 he married Mary Kelly and they would have a son John and a daughter Judith.  They lived together in Milton, Massachusetts and John enlisted into the Massachusetts National Guard serving with Company K of the 181st Infantry Regiment. 

    He was mobilized for federal service in January of 1941. He served in the 26th Infantry Division assigned to coastal defense in New England.  He was eventually transferred to the 357th Infantry Regiment of the 90th Infantry Division. This regiment trained in multiple bases throughout the country and became a cohesive unit. John and the rest of the 357th departed from Fort Dix, New Jersey to Europe aboard the HMS DOMINIAN MONARCH the 23rd of March 1944. The regiment arrive in Liverpool, England the 4th of April 1944 and spent much of the next few weeks on conditioning marches in the English countryside. On the 4th of June 1944, the men of the 357th embarked aboard the SS EXPLORER and SS BIENVILLE which carried them to France. 

    John and the rest of his regiment landed on Utah beach the 8th of June 1944. The unit remained in continuous combat in the hedgerows of Normandy and the assault on the Contentin peninsula. On the 7th of August 1944, John was wounded for the first time during an assault on the French city of Lemans. The Regiment next participated in the attack on Rhiems and during the attack against Maiziere-Les-Metz John was wounded for the second time receiving shrapnel in his legs. He returned to his regiment on the 9th of November in time to participate in attacks against the Maginot line. John was killed in action the 15th of November 1944 in intense fighting against strong German positions. His remains were repatriated to the United States in 1948 and he is buried at the Milton Cemetery in Milton, Massachusetts. His brother Daniel was also killed during the war. Langelier Lane in Marlborough is named in his honor.

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