WWII · Battle Death Record
Alexander Nininger
Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army · Florida
Medal of Honor
Personnel File — Core Information
- Name
- Alexander Nininger
- Entered the Service From
- Florida
- Rank
- Second Lieutenant
- Service
- U.S. Army
- Unit / Regiment
- 1st Battalion, 57th Infantry Regiment (Philippine Scouts)
- War
- WWII
- Date of Death
- January 12, 1942
- Awards
- Medal of Honor, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
- Burial / Memorial
- Commemorated on the Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
- Grave
- Tablets of the Missing
Their story
On January 12, 1942, near Abucay, Bataan, 2nd Lt. Nininger voluntarily joined another company under heavy Japanese attack and repeatedly assaulted enemy positions with rifle, grenades, and bayonet, destroying several enemy groups in close combat. Though wounded three times, he continued attacking until he was killed, with an enemy officer and two soldiers found dead around his body. He was the first American soldier awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II.
Compiled from American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and National Archives (NARA) records and public sources.
This record is one of more than 200,000 in our historical archive. Some information may have been corrupted or lost over decades of data conversion. Corrections are welcome — please contact the archive.