Alexander R. Skinker
{{Short description|US Medal of Honor recipient (1883-1918)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Alexander Rives Skinker
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1883|10|13}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1918|9|26|1883|10|13}}
| birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, US
| death_place = Cheppy, France
| placeofburial = Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis
| placeofburial_label = Place of burial
| image = Alexander R. Skinker - WWI Medal of Honor recipient.jpg
| caption = Skinker in 1917
| nickname =
| allegiance = {{flag|United States}}
| branch = Missouri National Guard
US Army
| serviceyears = 1903–1908, 1916–1918
| rank = Captain
| commands =
| unit = Company I, 138th Infantry Regiment, 35th Division
| battles = Argonne Forest, World War I
| awards = 45px Medal of Honor
| alma_mater = Washington University in St. Louis
| laterwork =
| signature = Signature of Alexander Rives Skinker (1883–1918).png
}}
Captain Alexander Rives Skinker (October 13, 1883 – September 26, 1918) was a U.S. Army officer who was a Medal of Honor recipient during World War I. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1905. He served in the Missouri National Guard from 1903 to 1908, and entered the Army as a commissioned officer in 1916. He was awarded the medal for leading an attack on German pillboxes in the Hindenburg Line during the Meuse–Argonne offensive, and was killed in the attack.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company I, 138th Infantry, 35th Division. Place and date: At Cheppy, France; September 26, 1918. Entered service at: St. Louis, Missouri. Birth: October 13, 1883; St. Louis, Missouri. General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 13 (January 18, 1919).
Citation:
{{blockquote|Unwilling to sacrifice his men when his company was held up by terrific machinegun fire from iron pill boxes in the Hindenburg Line, Captain Skinker personally led an automatic rifleman and a carrier in an attack on the machineguns. The carrier was killed instantly, but Captain Skinker seized the ammunition and continued through an opening in the barbed wire, feeding the automatic rifle until he, too, was killed.}}
==Military awards==
Skinker's military decorations and awards include:{{cite book|title=Centennial History of Missouri (The Center State) - One Hundred Years in the Union 1820-1921 |volume=VI |year=1921|publisher=The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, St. Louis, Missouri and Chicago, Illinois|pages=300–304|url=https://archive.org/stream/centennialhisto02stevgoog#page/n306/mode/2up/search/Skinker| access-date= 2021-11-24 |via=Internet Archive}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89511811/gets-italian-war-cross/ |title=Gets Italian War Cross – Mrs. Skinker the Recipient of a Tribute to Her Dead Husband |newspaper=The New York Times |location=Philadelphia |page=17 |date=March 16, 1922 |access-date=2021-11-24 |via=Newspapers.com}}
| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|colspan="3"|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Medal of Honor ribbon.svg|width=106}} |
| {{ribbon devices|number=|type=service-star|ribbon=Mexican Border Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=palm|ribbon=Croce di guerra al merito BAR.svg|width=106}} |
| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
!1st row | colspan="7"|Medal of Honor |
| 2nd row
| colspan="3"|Mexican Border Service Medal | colspan="3"|World War I Victory Medal w/three bronze service stars to denote credit for the St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne and Defensive Sector battle clasps. | colspan="3"|Croce al Merito di Guerra (Italy) |
|---|
See also
{{Portal|Biography}}
References
{{reflist}}
- {{Cite web |access-date=September 24, 2010 |url=http://www.accessgenealogy.com/scripts/data/database.cgi?file=Data&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0000934 |title=Access Genealogy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606042731/http://www.accessgenealogy.com/scripts/data/database.cgi?file=Data&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0000934 |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skinker, Alexander R.}}
Category:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
Category:United States Army officers
Category:American military personnel killed in World War I
Category:World War I recipients of the Medal of Honor
Category:Military personnel from Missouri
Category:Washington University in St. Louis alumni
Category:Phi Delta Theta members
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