Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection open for research .

Use Restrictions

No physical characteristics affect use of this material.

Preferred Citation

Irwin Uran Memoirs, 2001-2003 (SC 0087), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Irwin Uran, New York, NY

Alternative Form Available

None

Accruals

2009.0222

Processing Information

Charlotte Blacklock, 29 June 2011

Biographical Information

Irwin Uran was born on 24 April 1926 to Arthur W (ca. 1892-n.d.). and Rose (ca. 1902-1991) Uran, a Jewish couple in New York, New York. He was enlisted in the Army at the age of eighteen on 8 May 1944 in Fort Dix, New Jersey, and he served in the Army during World War II as a Private First Class, Company K, 264th Regiment, 1st Platoon, 66th Infantry Division. On his return to the United States, Uran served as a prison guard and then a military policeman in New York until his discharge, when he settled in California for a time. In 1994, he moved to Loudoun County, Virginia. He married Episcopal priest Rev. Betsee Parker (1951-present) in 1998, and the couple settled in New York. Uran and Rev. Parker had one daughter, Constance "Rosie" Uran, and they subsequently moved back to Loudoun County, where Irwin Uran died on 23 June 2007.

Uran was interested in finance throughout his life and he became wealthy through his investments in the stock market. He used his wealth for philanthropy, creating the Irwin Uran Gift Fund of Loudoun County, Virginia and donating to charities, public facilities, and needy individuals in Loudoun County. As a soldier, Uran witnessed the holocaust first-hand when he assisted in the release of the inmates of the Dachau concentration camp. In order to create awareness of the horrors of genocide, he donated $1 million to the Loudoun County Public Library towards holocaust studies. Uran was also troubled by the anti-Semitism he encountered during the war and in Loudoun County after the war, and he donated $2 million toward the construction of a synagogue in Leesburg in hopes that the anti-Semitism would cease.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of the memoirs of Irwin Uran, written from 2001-2003. It records his experiences in World War II, such as his actions during the sinking of the Troopship "Leopoldville" on Christmas Eve, 1944, for which he was later awarded a Bronze Star medal. It also explains the source of his wealth and the reasons for his philanthropy.

Arrangement

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Related Material

None

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography

Other Finding Aid

None

Technical Requirements

None