Isaac Fry was born on February 21, 1839, in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on September 10, 1862, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and served aboard the sloop-of-war USS Ticonderoga after she was commissioned in May 1863. During the Second Battle of Fort Fisher in January 1865, Orderly Sergeant Fry participated in the storming party which took the fort on January 15, 1865, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor on June 22, 1865. He was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps on September 20, 1866, and moved to Minnesota until 1881, when he settled in Edison Township, South Dakota. During his time in Edison Township, Isaac served as justice of peace, supervisor, clerk, and chairman of the school board before his death on November 3, 1900. Isaac Fry was buried at the Summit Hill Cemetery in Garretson, South Dakota.

His Medal of Honor Citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. TICONDEROGA during attacks on Fort Fisher, 13 to 15 January 1865. As orderly sergeant of Marine guard, and captain of a gun, Orderly Sergeant Fry performed his duties with skill and courage as the TICONDEROGA maintained a well-placed fire upon the batteries to the left of the palisades during the initial phase of the 3-day battle, and thereafter, as she considerably lessened the firing power of guns on the mount which had been turned upon our assaulting columns. During this action the flag was planted on one of the strongest fortifications possessed by the rebels.