Lieutenant Edouard Victor michel Izac was a sailor in the U.S. Navy who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on May 21, 1918 aboard German submarine U-90 as prisoner of war during World War I. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. President Lincoln. Izac was 26 years old.
One other service member also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on November 11, 1920, 2 years after the action — the Washington Navy Yard, presented by Under Sec. of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt. He later rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Izac was born on December 18, 1891 in Cresco, Howard County, Iowa. His Medal of Honor is credited to Illinois. Izac died on January 18, 1990 in Fairfax, Virginia, at the age of 98. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Records also list him as Isaacs, Edouard.
Izac is one of 132 Medal of Honor recipients from World War I and one of 210 credited to Illinois.
Official Medal of Honor citation
When the U.S.S. President Lincoln was attacked and sunk by the German submarine U-90, 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.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: War Merit Cross (Italy), World War I.
Life beyond the battlefield
- Offices held: United States representative
- Occupations: politician
- Education: United States Naval Academy
Source: Wikidata.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Illinois →
From the archives
Edouard Izac was born with the last name "Isaacs." He later chose to legally change his name to "Izac" to honor the way his ancestors spelled the name. His Medal of Honor was originally awarded as "Isaacs" but when he legally changed his name, the U.S. Navy agreed to accept the change in his military records.
Timeline
- December 18, 1891Born in Cresco, Howard County, Iowa
- May 21, 1918Act of valor — aboard German submarine U-90 as prisoner of warAge 26. U.S.S. President Lincoln
- November 11, 1920Medal of Honor presentedThe Washington Navy Yard, presented by Under Sec. of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt
- January 18, 1990Died in Fairfax, VirginiaAge 98.
- Resting placeArlington National CemeteryArlington, Virginia
Biography
Edouard Victor Michel Izac (December 18, 1891 – January 18, 1990) was a lieutenant in the United States Navy during World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient. From 1937 to 1947, he served five terms as a U.S. House Representative from California. He was posted to the troop transport USS President Lincoln in 1918 when that ship was sunk by German submarine U-90. Taken as a prisoner of war, and not letting his captors know that he spoke German, Izac gathered intelligence on the submarine and its crew before being transferred to prison camps in Germany, from where he escaped in October 1918. At the time of his death in 1990, he was the last living Medal of Honor recipient from World War I.
From the Wikipedia article “Edouard Izac”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
