Name: Alfred Joseph JURGENSMEYER
Rank / Rating: S2-Seaman Second Class
Service #: 339 10 15
DOB: May 25, 1927
From: St. Elizabeth, Missouri
Parents: Sam and Mary Jurgensmeyer
Went Aboard: June 23, 1945
Age When Ship Went Down: 18 years, 2 months, 5 days
Spouse:
Children:
Grandchildren:
Bio Submitted By: Marilyn Northcutt Henry - Admin
Date Posted:

Seaman Second Class Jurgensmeyer was born on May 25, 1927. He was the son of Sam and Mary Jurgensmeyer of St. Elizabeth, Missouri. He was the youngest of seven children. He had two brothers and four sisters. Alfred attended St. Elizabeth grade school and three and a half years at St. Elizabeth High School. He enlisted in the Navy in February 1944 and needed his father's signature because of his age.

After boot camp at USNTC (United States Naval Training Center), Great Lakes, Illinois, he came home for a two-week furlough in May to celebrate his 18th birthday. Alfred was proud of his uniform, and the fact he was serving his country helped everyone say good-bye when he left for his assignment on USS Indianapolis. Alfred was aboard the ship about four weeks before it sank. His body was never found. This brought sadness to the entire Jurgensmeyer family. Alfred was a very happy person with many friends. Note: In Tom Brokaw’s book, "An Album of Memories', survivor Kenneth Mitchell wrote a letter to fellow survivor Ray Hornbuckle. In this letter Kenneth names men he knew died from the sinking. One name listed is “Jerimeyer” which could be that Kenneth witnessed the death of Alfred Jurgensmeyer. Many letters describing those who died have misspelled last names. Note: USS Indianapolis Survivors, Only 316 Survived; (e-book, 2025), p. 532: Survivor Gerald M. Poor, S2c, recounted his time in the water after the sinking: "I became good friends of Alfred Jurgensmeyer and Norbert Boss. I remember Jurgensmeyer became disoriented and I was holding him in my arms when he died. There were officers and corpsmen who would come and help 'bury' someone when they passed away. Finally, there were only corpsmen left. When I called for help to 'bury' Alfred, I was told there were no more corpsmen left and I would have to do it myself. Norbert helped me and all we could do was take off his life jacket, say a prayer, and let him slip into the water. Later, Norbert became disoriented and kept asking about Alfred." Norbert swam away and "I never saw him again." Alfred was one of over 225 new men who boarded Indy before it left Mare Island on July 16, 1945.