Ira served as an Wiper, S.S. India Arrow, U.S. Merchant Marines during World War II.
He resided in Frederick County, Maryland prior to the war. He enlisted in the Merchant Marines on October 8, 1941.
Before enlisting in the Merchant Marines Ira had served with the U.S. Marine Corps, in which he enlisted in July, 1916, during World War I. He served with Company M, 13th Regiment and later as a member of Company D, 15th Separate Battalion.
After World War I ended he returned to the United States in November 1919 and was stationed at Quantico, Virginia and remained in the Marine Corps for a number of years before returning home to Maryland and starting construction work at Camp Ritchie.
When World War II was declared he was 53-years-old and knew he would not be considered for active duty. So he joined the Merchant Marines and was assigned to the S.S. India Arrow.
On the S.S. India Arrow he served as a "Wiper" whose duties on board the ship were to perform manual labor in the engine department, such as cleaning and painting and assists in repair work.
The unescorted & unarmed " S.S. India Arrow " , while enroute from Corpus Christi, Texas to Carteret, New Jersey with a cargo of 88.369 barrels of diesel fuel, was hit by a torpedo fired by German Submarine U-103 approximatley 20 miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey.
The torpedo struck on the starboard quarter at about the #10 bunker. The ship caught fire and began to sink rapidly by the stern. The nine officers and 29 crewmen immediately began to abandon ship. Two lifeboats were destroyed by the explosion and a third was pulled beneath the water by the sinking tanker, drowning 18 of the 20 occupants in it.
U-103 then surfaced and fired seven shells from her deck gun at two minutes intervals from a distance of 250 yards into the bow section which remained above water as the stern was sinking. Two men died as a result of the shelling. The " S.S. India Arrow " lost " 8 " officers and " 18 " of her crew. Only " 1 " officer and " 11 " crewmen survived.
Ira was declared "Missing In Action" in this sinking during the war.
He was awarded the Merchant Mariner's Medal and the Combat Bar with a Star!
Son of Harvey Meade and Theresa Hattie Buhrman, of Baltimore, MD.
Ira has the "distinction" of being the first Frederick County, Maryland man to have been "Killed In Action" in World War II.
Ira also has a "cenotaph" in the Mount Bethel Cemetery, Garfield, Maryland.
" Click Here " for that record.
( Bio by: Russ Pickett )
He resided in Frederick County, Maryland prior to the war. He enlisted in the Merchant Marines on October 8, 1941.
Before enlisting in the Merchant Marines Ira had served with the U.S. Marine Corps, in which he enlisted in July, 1916, during World War I. He served with Company M, 13th Regiment and later as a member of Company D, 15th Separate Battalion.
After World War I ended he returned to the United States in November 1919 and was stationed at Quantico, Virginia and remained in the Marine Corps for a number of years before returning home to Maryland and starting construction work at Camp Ritchie.
When World War II was declared he was 53-years-old and knew he would not be considered for active duty. So he joined the Merchant Marines and was assigned to the S.S. India Arrow.
On the S.S. India Arrow he served as a "Wiper" whose duties on board the ship were to perform manual labor in the engine department, such as cleaning and painting and assists in repair work.
The unescorted & unarmed " S.S. India Arrow " , while enroute from Corpus Christi, Texas to Carteret, New Jersey with a cargo of 88.369 barrels of diesel fuel, was hit by a torpedo fired by German Submarine U-103 approximatley 20 miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey.
The torpedo struck on the starboard quarter at about the #10 bunker. The ship caught fire and began to sink rapidly by the stern. The nine officers and 29 crewmen immediately began to abandon ship. Two lifeboats were destroyed by the explosion and a third was pulled beneath the water by the sinking tanker, drowning 18 of the 20 occupants in it.
U-103 then surfaced and fired seven shells from her deck gun at two minutes intervals from a distance of 250 yards into the bow section which remained above water as the stern was sinking. Two men died as a result of the shelling. The " S.S. India Arrow " lost " 8 " officers and " 18 " of her crew. Only " 1 " officer and " 11 " crewmen survived.
Ira was declared "Missing In Action" in this sinking during the war.
He was awarded the Merchant Mariner's Medal and the Combat Bar with a Star!
Son of Harvey Meade and Theresa Hattie Buhrman, of Baltimore, MD.
Ira has the "distinction" of being the first Frederick County, Maryland man to have been "Killed In Action" in World War II.
Ira also has a "cenotaph" in the Mount Bethel Cemetery, Garfield, Maryland.
" Click Here " for that record.
( Bio by: Russ Pickett )
Ira served as an Wiper, S.S. India Arrow, U.S. Merchant Marines during World War II.
He resided in Frederick County, Maryland prior to the war. He enlisted in the Merchant Marines on October 8, 1941.
Before enlisting in the Merchant Marines Ira had served with the U.S. Marine Corps, in which he enlisted in July, 1916, during World War I. He served with Company M, 13th Regiment and later as a member of Company D, 15th Separate Battalion.
After World War I ended he returned to the United States in November 1919 and was stationed at Quantico, Virginia and remained in the Marine Corps for a number of years before returning home to Maryland and starting construction work at Camp Ritchie.
When World War II was declared he was 53-years-old and knew he would not be considered for active duty. So he joined the Merchant Marines and was assigned to the S.S. India Arrow.
On the S.S. India Arrow he served as a "Wiper" whose duties on board the ship were to perform manual labor in the engine department, such as cleaning and painting and assists in repair work.
The unescorted & unarmed " S.S. India Arrow " , while enroute from Corpus Christi, Texas to Carteret, New Jersey with a cargo of 88.369 barrels of diesel fuel, was hit by a torpedo fired by German Submarine U-103 approximatley 20 miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey.
The torpedo struck on the starboard quarter at about the #10 bunker. The ship caught fire and began to sink rapidly by the stern. The nine officers and 29 crewmen immediately began to abandon ship. Two lifeboats were destroyed by the explosion and a third was pulled beneath the water by the sinking tanker, drowning 18 of the 20 occupants in it.
U-103 then surfaced and fired seven shells from her deck gun at two minutes intervals from a distance of 250 yards into the bow section which remained above water as the stern was sinking. Two men died as a result of the shelling. The " S.S. India Arrow " lost " 8 " officers and " 18 " of her crew. Only " 1 " officer and " 11 " crewmen survived.
Ira was declared "Missing In Action" in this sinking during the war.
He was awarded the Merchant Mariner's Medal and the Combat Bar with a Star!
Son of Harvey Meade and Theresa Hattie Buhrman, of Baltimore, MD.
Ira has the "distinction" of being the first Frederick County, Maryland man to have been "Killed In Action" in World War II.
Ira also has a "cenotaph" in the Mount Bethel Cemetery, Garfield, Maryland.
" Click Here " for that record.
( Bio by: Russ Pickett )
He resided in Frederick County, Maryland prior to the war. He enlisted in the Merchant Marines on October 8, 1941.
Before enlisting in the Merchant Marines Ira had served with the U.S. Marine Corps, in which he enlisted in July, 1916, during World War I. He served with Company M, 13th Regiment and later as a member of Company D, 15th Separate Battalion.
After World War I ended he returned to the United States in November 1919 and was stationed at Quantico, Virginia and remained in the Marine Corps for a number of years before returning home to Maryland and starting construction work at Camp Ritchie.
When World War II was declared he was 53-years-old and knew he would not be considered for active duty. So he joined the Merchant Marines and was assigned to the S.S. India Arrow.
On the S.S. India Arrow he served as a "Wiper" whose duties on board the ship were to perform manual labor in the engine department, such as cleaning and painting and assists in repair work.
The unescorted & unarmed " S.S. India Arrow " , while enroute from Corpus Christi, Texas to Carteret, New Jersey with a cargo of 88.369 barrels of diesel fuel, was hit by a torpedo fired by German Submarine U-103 approximatley 20 miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey.
The torpedo struck on the starboard quarter at about the #10 bunker. The ship caught fire and began to sink rapidly by the stern. The nine officers and 29 crewmen immediately began to abandon ship. Two lifeboats were destroyed by the explosion and a third was pulled beneath the water by the sinking tanker, drowning 18 of the 20 occupants in it.
U-103 then surfaced and fired seven shells from her deck gun at two minutes intervals from a distance of 250 yards into the bow section which remained above water as the stern was sinking. Two men died as a result of the shelling. The " S.S. India Arrow " lost " 8 " officers and " 18 " of her crew. Only " 1 " officer and " 11 " crewmen survived.
Ira was declared "Missing In Action" in this sinking during the war.
He was awarded the Merchant Mariner's Medal and the Combat Bar with a Star!
Son of Harvey Meade and Theresa Hattie Buhrman, of Baltimore, MD.
Ira has the "distinction" of being the first Frederick County, Maryland man to have been "Killed In Action" in World War II.
Ira also has a "cenotaph" in the Mount Bethel Cemetery, Garfield, Maryland.
" Click Here " for that record.
( Bio by: Russ Pickett )
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