Laning served during the Spanish-American war on board the monitor Monadnock in the Philippines. He was in the islands during the first eyar and a half of hte insurrection. He commanded the ex-Spanish gunboart, Panay, and later he was chief engineer of the Isla de Cuba, which was sunk by Dewey in Manila Bay, and later raised and commissioned by the U.S. Navy.
In 1907, Laning was ordered to the battleship
Nebraska as navigator and made a cruise around the world with the "Great White Fleet." He commanded the first 1,000 ton destroyer to be commissioned, USS Cassin, and served on that vessel during the Mexican unrest of 1914. During World War I, Laning served in Washington as assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations. In 1919, he went to sea as chief of staff to Adm. Plunkett, commanding the destroyer forces of the Atlantic.
He attended the Navl War College in 1921 and in 1924 reported to the battleship Pennsylvania as commanding officer. In early 1926, he transferred to the office of naval operations for temporary duty, until reporting to NTC.
His career following NTC is unknown. If anyone has further information on Rear Adm. Laning regarding his naval career or date of death, please contact the webmaster.
Little is know about Rear Adm. Harris L. Laning, except for the few articles that appeared in the Hoist Newspaper during his tenure at Naval Training Station.
