13. Edouard Izac escaped from German captivity
Edouard Izac was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, serving on the troop transport ship USS President Lincoln (a former German passenger liner impounded by the Americans). Between October 1917 and May 1918 the ship made five voyages across the Atlantic, helping to deliver the American Expeditionary Force to Europe. On May 31, President Lincoln was on the return leg, bound for New York, when it was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-Boat U-90. Though most of the more than 700 men aboard survived and were rescued by American destroyers from lifeboats or the water, 26 died in the attack, and Lieutenant Izac was captured and taken aboard the German U-Boat as a prisoner of war. While aboard the vessel he paid particular attention to the German operations and communications, retaining the information in his memory. He was put ashore in Germany and immediately attempted what became several escape efforts.
In one attempt, as he was being taken by train to a German prisoner of war camp, he jumped through a window from the moving railway car, but was quickly recaptured. The incident caused injuries from which he never fully recovered. He finally escaped from a German camp in early October, 1918, reaching Switzerland along with another American prisoner. The neutral Swiss expatriated him to London, from which he passed the information to American Vice Admiral William Sims, who ran US Navy operations in the Atlantic. By the time Izac provided the information the war was nearly over, and Sims didn’t act to use what Izac told him regarding U-Boat tactics and capabilities. Izac returned to the United States to recover from his injuries, arriving on November 11, 1918, the last day of the war. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions two years later.