Ira C. Welborn was born in Mico, Mississippi. He graduated from the United States Military Academy as a member of the class of 1898. Just a few weeks after his graduation from the Academy he was assigned as a 2nd lieutenant to the 9th Infantry Regiment, to serve in the Spanish–American War. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of San Juan Hill, near Santiago, Cuba, on July 2, 1898, which he received on June 21, 1899.