Albert L. Ireland

Albert Luke Ireland (February 25, 1918 – November 16, 1997) was a United States Marine Corps staff sergeant. Serving in both World War II and the Korean War, Ireland earned the Purple Heart medal nine times for wounds in combat, the most of any U.S. Marine in history.

Ireland was born and attended school in Putnam County, New York. Following a brief enlistment in the Royal Canadian Air Force, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1941 after the Attack on Pearl Harbor and served in the Pacific Theater. leading an infantry unit and earning a further four Purple Hearts. In his later years, Ireland lived in Kansas, and died in 1997. He was buried in a memorial service in Philipstown, New York.

Early life and education Ireland was born in Nelsonville, New York on February 25, 1918, the son of Albert Ireland and Katherine McGee Ireland. He was a longtime resident of both Nelsonville and nearby Cold Spring, and attended Haldane High School in Cold Spring. At age 36, he won the Notre Dame bantamweight boxing championship. "After a few times in the air," he later remarked, "they discovered my sinus condition." He spent 27 months overseas, serving as a machine gunner.

Ireland received four more wounds in the Battle of Okinawa. His first Okinawa wound, shrapnel in the leg and right arm, occurred on April 16, 1945.

Ireland earned five Purple Hearts during his World War II service. Still carrying shrapnel in his lung, he returned to the United States in 1945 with full disability, spending a year as a Veterans Administration patient. In the fall of 1950, he volunteered for active duty in the Korean War, completing refresher combat training at Camp Lejeune in early January 1951 and applying for combat duty. However, because Ireland had received more than two Purple Hearts, the first sergeant there who was composing the list of Marines for Korean service attempted to stop him from entering combat. The first sergeant in question, however, was overruled after Ireland appealed to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Clifton B. Cates, in Washington, D.C. His mother, Katherine, first objected when he wanted to fight again, but as Ireland later told the press: "I explained to her we had another job to do and it would take a lot of men," and this changed her mind. Ireland's other Korean wounds occurred on June 2, July 2, and July 7, 1951,

In July 1953, Time magazine ran a piece on Ireland titled "Fighting Man," detailing his military career, Purple Heart awards, and appeal to General Cates to allow him to fight in Korea. On July 27, 1953, the day the Korean Armistice was signed, the New York Daily News printed his remarks on the event: "If it's real, I feel great and so will the guys up at the front. I hope there's no mickey in it, though."

In September 1953, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Ireland meeting Secretary of the Navy Robert B. Anderson. Ireland was speaking at an American Legion convention banquet in St. Louis where Lewis K. Gough, national commander of the American Legion, was also present. The Post-Dispatch described Ireland as "America's most wounded veteran." and was elected commandant of the league's New York department in July 1965.

Ireland was a teacher and coach for the New York City Board of Education. In total, Ireland spent over two decades as a teacher. The separation report following his Korean service lists his main civilian occupation as a reporter for the Putnam County News. On May 14, 2015, the Putnam County Sheriff's Department christened one of their Marine Patrol Boats the SPB Albert L. Ireland. The boat, a 24-foot Boston Whaler made in 2013, patrolled the Hudson River until the county ended river patrols in 2021.

Military awards and decorations

Bronze Star Medal w/ "V" Device & 1 gold service star Purple Heart w/ 1 silver service star and 3 bronze service starsAmerican Defense Service MedalAmerican Campaign Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 2 bronze service stars World War II Victory MedalNational Defense Service Medal Korean Service Medal w/ 1 bronze service star United Nations Korea Medal