Edouard Izac
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Edouard Victor Michel Izac | |
|---|---|
| December 18, 1891 – January 18, 1990 (aged 98) | |
 Edouard Izac (U.S. Naval Academy photo) |
|
| Place of birth | Cresco, Iowa |
| Place of death | Fairfax, Virginia |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1915-1921 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Medal of Honor |
| Other work | U.S. Representative from California |
Edouard Victor Michel Izac (18 December 1891 – 18 January 1990) was a Lieutenant in the United States Navy during World War I, a Representative from California and a Medal of Honor recipient.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Born as Isaacs, in Cresco, Howard County, Iowa, Izac attended the School of the Assumption, Cresco, Iowa, the high school at South St. Paul, Minnesota, and Werntz Preparatory School, Annapolis, Maryland. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1915. On 31 May 1918, his ship, President Lincoln was struck by three torpedoes from the German submarine U–90. Izac was taken aboard the U–90 as prisoner. Later, he escaped from a German prison camp. He was forced to retire in 1921 on account of wounds received while a prisoner of war in Germany. His awards included the Croce di Guerra of Italy and the Cross of Montenegro.
Izac then relocated to San Diego, California, and engaged in newspaper work and writing 1922-1928. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1934 to the Seventy-fourth Congress, and a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1940 and 1944. Izac was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fifth and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1937–January 3, 1947). He lost his reelection bid in 1946 to the Eightieth Congress.
Interested in lumbering, Izac raised thoroughbred cattle on a farm in Gordonsville, Virginia, before residing in Bethesda, Maryland.
Izac was a resident of Fairfax, Virginia, from 1988 until his death in 1990. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
[edit] Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy. Place and date: Aboard German submarine U-90 as prisoner of war, 21 May 1918. Entered service at: Illinois. Born: 18 December 1891, Cresco, Howard County, Iowa.
Citation:
- When the U.S.S. President Lincoln was attacked and sunk by the German submarine U-90, on 21 May 1918, Lt. Izac was captured and held as a prisoner on board the U-90 until the return of the submarine to Germany, when he was confined in the prison camp. During his stay on the U-90 he obtained information of the movements of German submarines which was so important that he determined to escape, with a view to making this information available to the U.S. and Allied Naval authorities. In attempting to carry out this plan, he jumped through the window of a rapidly moving train at the imminent risk of death, not only from the nature of the act itself but from the fire of the armed German soldiers who were guarding him. Having been recaptured and reconfined, Lt. Izac made a second and successful attempt to escape, breaking his way through barbed-wire fences and deliberately drawing the fire of the armed guards in the hope of permitting others to escape during the confusion. He made his way through the mountains of southwestern Germany, having only raw vegetables for food, and at the end, swam the River Rhine during the night in the immediate vicinity of German sentries.
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- Izac, Edouard Victor Michel, The Holy Land—Then and Now, (Vantage Press, 1965).
[edit] References
- Edouard Izac at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2007-12-25
- This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
[edit] External links
- Arlington Cemetery information
- Photos
- Bioguide (U.S. Congress)
- Edouard Izac at Find A Grave Retrieved on 2007-12-25
| Preceded by George Burnham |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 20th congressional district 1937–1943 |
Succeeded by John Carl Hinshaw |
| Preceded by New district |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 23rd congressional district 1943–1947 |
Succeeded by Charles K. Fletcher |
