05/27/2024
A memorial Day remembrance to the Hero of the Schaffer Family, My Dad's brother and idol, and My Uncle Izzy who was tragically lost at sea in the waning days of of world war 2, the war to end all wars against Germany in 1945...making the ultimate sacrifice at the altar of Freedom. RIP Uncle Izzy. People say I bear a l family resemblance, which I consider the highest of honors.
Name of graduate: Isidore Schaffer
Service: Merchant Marine
Position: Second Assistant Engineer
Date of Birth: 1921
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Name of ship: S.S. Thomas Donaldson
Date of death: 20 March, 1945
Place of death: North Atlantic, 68-26 N, 33-40 E
The S.S. Thomas Donaldson left Gourock, Scotland on the dreaded Murmansk run in March, 1945, in convoy JW-65, loaded with general cargo. The ship was sailing twentieth in a single column of 26 ships when, at 1115 GCT on 20 March, the ship was struck by a torpedo on the starboard side of the vessel below the waterline. The impact destroyed the engine room, killing Second Assistant Engineer Isidore Schaffer, a fireman, and an oiler, all of whom were on watch at the time.
The engine room flooded rapidly; the Chief Engineer, First Assistant Engineer, and Third Mate attempted to rescue the three men on watch in the engine room, but the water had already climbed to within a foot of the top grating. The Deck maintenance man was also badly injured in the explosion, and died several days later on board the HMS Bamborough Castle. There was no fire on board the ship, but a crack was observed in the hull, amidships on the port side.
The Thomas Donaldson was taken in tow by one of the es**rt vessels for the convoy, but the ship sank stern first at 1545 on the same day. Most of the crew had abandoned ship on the Captain’s orders at 1125; the rest of the crew abandoned just before the sinking. Of the 69 merchant crew and Naval Armed Guard on board, only the three men on watch in the engine room and the deck maintenance man were killed.
Isidore Schaffer, a 1943 graduate of the Academy, was known as “Izzy” during his time at the Academy. A music lover, he was known for constantly playing the phonograph in his spare time, and was remembered as a good natured and easy-going colleague.
