US Army CPT Alexander Skinker: Medal of Honor Recipient WWI

During the brutal Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I, Captain Alexander Skinker of the 138th Infantry made the ultimate sacrifice. When his men were pinned down by heavy German machine-gun fire, he refused to order a frontal assault. Instead, he personally led a small team toward an enemy pillbox. After one man was killed, Skinker took up the ammo and continued the attack under intense fire. While feeding rounds into the automatic rifle, he was fatally shot — but his bravery allowed his men to survive and reposition. For his extraordinary heroism, Captain Skinker was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor Citation:
Unwilling to sacrifice his men when his company was held up by terrific machine-gun fire from iron pill boxes in the Hindenburg Line, Capt. Skinker personally led an automatic rifleman and a carrier in an attack on the machine guns. The carrier was killed instantly, but Capt. Skinker seized the ammunition and continued through an opening in the barbed wire, feeding the automatic rifle until he too, was killed.

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Photos Courtesy Wikimedia Commons & Nick Number

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