The First Medal of Honor Recipient of WWII Was Basically a Modern-Day Berserker

Viking berserkers are remembered centuries later for throwing themselves into a battle without armor, clothing or fear for their lives or safety. Fueled only by rage, they sowed terror into the hearts of their enemies. To look at Lt. Alexander R. "Sandy" Nininger when he began his plebe year at the U.S. Military Academy, one might never have guessed he would channel those old Viking warriors when the time came.

Nininger was a kind soul who listened to classical music and Broadway shows. He drew pictures for fun, joined the debate team and was active in track and field, which lent to his slender build. His classmates loved him, but they might never have guessed that "Sandy" would become the first Medal of Honor recipient of World War II -- and that he fought like a Viking berserker in the process.

Nininger graduated from West Point in 1941 and became an infantry officer. Requesting a posting in the Philippines, he arrived in Manila in November 1941, where he was appointed to lead a unit of Philippine Scouts under the 57th Infantry Regiment. The Philippine Scouts were Filipinos trained by Americans and led by American officers, and were some of the best troops in the country.

On Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese military struck Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, catching the Americans there completely by surprise. Although Pearl Harbor was the most infamous surprise attack that day, it was not the only one: In a matter of hours, Japan launched near-simultaneous assaults on Thailand, British possessions in Singapore, Malaya and Hong Kong as well as American installations on Wake Island, Guam and the Philippines. Japanese troops began landing in the Philippines two days later.

In that two-day time period, Japanese aircraft managed to all but wipe out Gen. Douglas MacArthur's Far East Air Force, and the U.S. Asiatic Fleet soon left Philippine waters. Without air or naval support, American and Filipino defenders could not protect the entirety of the islands, so they retreated to Bataan. MacArthur ordered five sustained delaying positions to hold off the Japanese advance while the bulk of the American forces moved to Bataan. The idea was to create a defense at Bataan where the Americans would be able to hold out until the United States could counterattack.

Nininger and his Philippine Scouts were part of the delaying plan, forming a line of resistance between Mabatang and Abucay and repelling Japanese attacks for days on end. Eventually, after repeated attacks depleted the Americans, Japanese snipers infiltrated the lines and wreaked havoc on the island's defenders. If left unabated, the snipers would cause the entire line of resistance to crumble.

The 57th Infantry Regiment formed sniper hunting parties to clear that danger. On Jan. 12, 1942, Nininger loaded up with a satchel of grenades, a captured Japanese machine gun and his M1 Garand rifle slung on his back, and set out into Luzon.

When the countersniper attacks began, Nininger began to advance, shooting one sniper down out of a tree. When the Japanese invaders began to open fire in full force, Lt. Nininger opened his grenade satchel and charged enemy positions, strongpoints and foxholes. His company said he killed 20 enemy troops with his grenades alone before pressing on. As Nininger moved forward, Japanese artillery shells started to rain down around him. His men began to fall, but he kept moving forward, guns blazing. He fought on until he ran out of ammunition. Then he used his bayonet.

Nininger's men reported seeing their lieutenant start fighting the Japanese in hand-to-hand combat, and they watched as he was wounded three times in the grim melee. But their officer never stopped fighting. Three enemy soldiers charged Nininger as the regiment, buoyed by his fierce solo combat, launched a charge and reformed its line. When all was said and done, Nininger lay dead, but with an enemy officer and two enlisted troops dead around him.

To his superior, Nininger's effort and the effect on the regiment were crucial to the success of not only the countersniper operation, but maybe to the defense of Bataan.

[Nininger's] "action acted like a tonic on the men around him, and added greatly to the success of our counter attack," Col. George S. Clarke, his commander, later said. Clarke said the U.S. forces would have crumbled in January if it weren't for the heroism that inspired the regiment. Instead, because Nininger fought on, fueled by rage and disregarding his personal safety, the American and Filipino defenders held on until April 1942.

For his berserker-like heroism in the face of the enemy and the overwhelming odds stacked against him, 1st Lt. Alexander Nininger was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the first of World War II, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in February 1942.

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