Medal of Honor: Alexander R. Skinker, World War I, September 26, 1918
When his men were pinned down before the Hindenburg Line, Captain Alexander Skinker refused to send them to slaughter. Instead, he led the attack himself—and gave his life in the attempt.
September 26, 2025
Name: Alexander R. Skinker
Rank: Captain
War: World War I
Date of Action: September 26, 1918
Unit: 138th Infantry Regiment, 35th Division, U.S. Army
Accredited to: Missouri
Summary of Action
At Cheppy, France, Captain Skinker’s company was caught under the crushing fire of German machine guns fortified in pillboxes. Unwilling to sacrifice his men in a hopeless charge, he chose to lead the assault personally. With only an automatic rifleman and an ammunition carrier, he advanced through barbed wire under withering fire. When the carrier fell dead beside him, Skinker seized the ammunition himself, feeding the gun and driving forward into the teeth of the defenses. He was cut down in the attempt, but his selfless courage and devotion to his men became a lasting testament to leadership in its purest form.
Medal of Honor Citation
Unwilling to sacrifice his men when his company was held up by terrific machinegun fire from iron pill boxes in the Hindenburg Line, Capt. Skinker personally led an automatic rifleman and a carrier in an attack on the machineguns. 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.
