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2nd Lt Irving B. Patten graduated from Quincy High School in 1934 and from Lowell Textile Institute. He was employed by the Swift Wool Company in Boston.

He enlisted in Boston, Massachusetts on 7 January 1941 and first served with the coast artillery and the ski troops. He was commissioned following completion of training at the A.A.F Bombardier Base in Williams Field, Arizona.

S/Sgt J. J. Cunningham:
"When I first noticed aircraft 42-30126, we were being engaged by fighters. It was flying about 500 yards out and about 300 yards down from the aircraft in which I was flying as tail gunner. The fighters made several attacks on our formation, but we managed to keep them at a distance. Aircraft 30126 was tail-end Charlie, and it is possible they were hit by enemy action. I’m not too sure of this because I was too busy at my own station to observe what was taking place around me. The aircraft was in level flight and appeared to be alright, when all of a sudden I saw three parachutes open. Aircraft 126 then went into a steep climb, looked to me to be about an 80-degree climb. It climbed for a few seconds, and I saw two more parachutes blossom, totaling five. The plane then rolled over and went into a dive; the controls must have been shot away because I could see no fire or visual damage. Just before the plane crashed into the mountain, I saw a burst of flame come from the wing tips, and an explosion took place in the left wing tip."

He was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery in Münsingen, Switzerland.

His brother, 1st Lt George K. Patten, was also killed in action during the war and is interred close to him.

Also, al his brothers served during the war.