Vet to make donation Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society
By:Sarah Winkelman
Looking through her late father’s Army photo album on Wednesday, Carolyn Thompson reread one of the letters her dad sent to her mother during World War II.
"He was in Southampton, England, just about to be sent home and he was hoping he would get to take the Queen Mary," she said. "The ship was full so he ended up coming home on a much smaller ship."
Old photos, many curled around the edges, were strewn across the counter of the Old Hights Print Shop in Hightstown as Ms. Thompson and her sister, Cathy Simmons, looked through their father’s Army photo album.
Their dad, Staff Sgt. George Lanning, was a member of the 80th Infantry Division. He served as a mechanic and rifle sharpshooter during World War II. On Memorial Day, the sisters will be donating their father’s uniform and dog tags to the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society at a special ceremony to be held after the Memorial Day parade.
Ms. Simmons will present the uniform and tags to society member Bill Bunting during the ceremony at Memorial Park.
"Being that this is the 60th anniversary of D-Day, we figured now was a great time to donate Dad’s uniform," she said. "It’s just been sitting in our mother’s cedar chest for over 50 years."
She added that the historic significance of the uniform should be shared with the community.
"People today don’t know much about World War II," she said.
Ms. Thompson said the only reason the sisters took it out was because their other sister, Cindy, was moving to Florida.
"We didn’t want to throw it away, so Cathy suggested we donate it to the historical society," she said.
Ms. Simmons said she chose to donate the uniform to the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society because her father’s dog tags say Cranbury on them and she wanted the Historical Society to be able to identify the uniform and know whom it belonged to.
"He grew up in Cranbury and died in Hightstown, but the dog tags say Cranbury, which is where he lived when he enlisted, so that’s where we wanted the uniform to go," she said.
Township Historian Betty Wagner said the society is anxious to acquire anything pertinent to the past and is looking forward to having Staff Sgt. Lanning’s uniform in its collection.
"We are very grateful to the family for donating the uniform," she said.
Ms. Wagner said the uniform will become part of the museum’s permanent collection and will be on display during special exhibits focusing on World War II or uniforms.
"The museum has a costume collection and the uniform will be placed in there," Ms. Wagner said.
While Staff Sgt. Lanning died in 1963, at the age of 40, his best friend, Frank Brown, still lives on Plainsboro Road. Ms. Thompson said Mr. Brown was the best man at her parents’ wedding in Georgia in 1944.
"Frank likes to tell us about how seven people piled into a big black car and used all their gas rations to drive down for the wedding," she said.
Staff Sgt. Lanning enlisted in the Army in 1943 and served until 1946. Ms. Simmons said she remembers her mother, Marie, driving to Asbury Park to pick her father up when he returned from Europe.
"He was in Germany and France, basically the European Theater," she said. "He once sent Mom a box from Dresden, Germany, and she was very excited because she thought it was Dresden China. It turned out to be two German army rifles."
Ms. Thompson said her family does not know much about her father’s time in the war, except what he wrote to their mother in letters.
"The soldiers didn’t talk much about what happened over there," she said. "Just now people are starting to talk about their experiences."
After the war, Staff Sgt. Lanning remained a community-minded citizen, his daughters said. He grew up in Cranbury and had a lot of town pride.
"Dad used to decorate his bike with flags for the Memorial Day parade in Cranbury," Ms. Simmons said. "It was the highlight of his year. He was very proud of it."
After the war, the Lannings moved to Hightstown because Mrs. Lanning’s family lived there. However, George Lanning remained an active member of Cranbury by opening a garage, Cranbury Esso Service Center, on Route 130. According to his daughters, it was a happening place to be.
"All the boys with cars would hang out there," Ms. Simmons said. "He let them work on their cars there. He was a surrogate father or brother to some of those boys."
In Hightstown, he was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5700, the First Aid Squad and the Fire Department. According to Ms. Simmons, he delivered a lot of babies while working as a volunteer EMT.
"People used to call him Doc," she said. "He was very well regarded for his work because he was so gentle. If he hadn’t been a mechanic he would have made an excellent doctor."