"Sandy" Nininger: The First Medal of Honor In World War II

The objective of Memorial Day, which comes up in a few days, is to remind all Americans of the sacrifice made by others that you and I may live in a free land. It seems to me we have one native son hero who deserves much more honor than we have ever given him. His name is Alexander Ramsay Nininger, and he was called "Sandy". We know he was the grandson of W. Harve Craig, and that his mother was living at the Craig residence on Park Street, in here Gainesville, when he was born. His parents separated, and in time he moved with his father to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. His high school records there show he was an athlete and a good student. He attended West Point, was commissioned in 1941 and assigned to the Philippines. At the same time the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor they also destroyed all American air power in the Pacific, and launched a massive attack on the Philippine Islands. General MacArthur and his troops were pushed back onto the Bataan Peninsula, where they were attempting to establish a defense line. It was during this action that Sandy Nininger won the Medal of Honor posthumously. One report told it this way: "The enemy attacked and the army retreated, except for Nininger. He ran straight into the assault, shooting snipers out of trees, hurling grenades into foxholes, bayoneting anybody who got in his way. Three times he was wounded. He scooped up an enemy machine gun and sprayed bullets until, finally, he fell." The Japanese advance, was stopped. The defense line was established. And General MacArthur was the one who recommended Nininger for the Congressional Medal of Honor ... thus it was that the first Medal of Honor in World War II went to a native son of Gainesville, Georgia.<br /> <br /> <I>This is Gordon Sawyer from a window on historic Green Street.</I>