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1st Lt Irwin W. Fernandez attended college and was an actor.

He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States in San Francisco, California, on 20 April 1942. He was commissioned at Williams Field, Arizona in August 1943. He was sent to England in the same month.

Statement of 2nd Lt Frank W. Roberts:
"I was flying Blue 4 on Lt Fernandes' wing at 27,000 feet. He turned into a lone ME-109, and I followed home. As he pulled up into e/a and a possible shot at it, he turned over on his back and immediately went into a spin, losing about 9,000 feet altitude. I circled him during this spin. It seemed that he recovered from his spin at 18,000 feet, but I then saw him drop off into another spin. Two or three ME-109s flew by then, and I had to turn to keep from flying in front of them. I looked for Lt Fernandes after this, but I never did see him. This was at 1210 on August 5 in the vicinity of Hamburg, just southeast of the town."

1st Lt Fernandes was initially buried at the Community Cemetery of Rockstedt. German records show that at the moment of his burial, he was not identified.