LIST SAILOR AS MISSING
Jack Voorhees, Graduate of Blairsburg School, Was on Sub
Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Smith of Blairsburg have received word that their nephew, Jack Voorhees, 21, a graduate of Blairsburg high school in 1941, is missing in action aboard a submarine in the Pacific.
Voorhees, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Voorhees of Loda, Ill., was a technician and was last heard from about Christmas time.
The sailor made his home at Blairsburg with the Smiths for two years and was an outstanding player on the high school basketball team.
Following his graduation, he enlisted in the navy in September, 1941. He has two brothers in service.
Source: Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, IA - March 22, 1944
JACK VOORHEES IS DECLARED DEAD BY NAVY DEPARTMENT
Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Smith of this city have received word from Mr. and Mrs. Harry Voorhees of Paxton, Ill., that their son, Jack LeRoy Voorhees, TM 2/c, has been officially declared dead by the navy department.
The young man was a nephew of Mrs. Smith and lived with the for some time at Blairsburg and where he attended the local high school. Memorial services were held Sunday at Paxton.
Voorhees had been listed as missing since Feb. 22, 1944, at which time he was serving aboard the U.S.S. Scorpion. The Scorpion has not been heard from since Jan. 3, 1944, and to date no other information has been received by the navy, concerning the fate of the vessel or the crew.
Source: Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, IA - February 6, 1946
Jack Leroy Voorhees, TORPEDOMAN'S MATE SECOND CLASS, U.S. NAVY - MIA/KIA
Jack Leroy Voorhees was born May 27, 1923 to Harry E. and Ann Elizabeth Ramshaw Voorhees. He died Jan. 11, 1946 and is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines. There is a cenotaph for Jack at the Glen Cemetery, Paxton, IL.
Jack was reported missing Jan. 1944 with the disappearance of the USS Scorpion (SS-278), assumed to be the victim of a Japanese mine. She was declared lost on Mar. 6, 1944. The Scorpion went down with 77 officers and men. Jack was awarded the Purple Heart.
Sources:
Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, IA
ancestry.com
World War II Memorial
World War II Memorial Honoree
OnEternalPatrol.com
