#16. The True Story of WW2’s FIRST Medal of Honor: Alexander Nininger

Episode 16 – Alexander Nininger – Episode Transcript

Cold Open
[Narrator] The Japanese infantry started down Bataan Peninsula’s East Road at 3 pm on January 9, 1942. It was a normal January day on the peninsula, with temperatures in the mid-80s Fahrenheit (low 30s Celsius) and humidity around 80 percent.
So it was hot and humid, and it probably wasn’t a comfortable march down the primitive dirt road in full uniform, in columns stretching out 4 miles along the road.
Adding to the discomfort would be the threat of attack, especially from the large guns they suspected were camouflaged nearby – and very much within striking distance of the road.
But as it turns out, those Japanese soldiers would be the ones to initiate the first fighting on the peninsula. Firing the first shots of what the world would come to know as the Battle of Bataan.
The Imperial Japanese Army’s leadership thought the US fighting withdrawal to Bataan during the previous 2 weeks had weakened the Filipino and American servicemen so much that they wouldn’t offer much opposition. So the Japanese generals began their offensive advance with a barrage of artillery guns, followed by those soldiers coming down East Road.
But this group of Japanese soldiers marching down East Road didn’t get far before those hidden American artillery guns roared to life, shaking the ground, the jungle trees, and even, seemingly, the air.
Emerging from the foliage and tress, a patrol of Philippine Scouts from the 57th Infantry fired on the Japanese, who returned shots. But the fire fight was brief, and the Philippine Scouts quickly withdrew from the road and into the jungle.
This move encouraged the Japanese soldiers. Their leaders were correct, the Americans weren’t ready for battle. So, they sent reports back to Lt. General Akira Nara, telling him that the American and Filipino forces had “fled into the jungle without putting up a fight.”
The Japanese leaders acted accordingly.
And, the very next day – January 10 –made their first demand for surrender. Japan’s General Masaharu Homma, who commanded all Japanese forces on Bataan, wrote a letter to American General Douglas MacArthur. The letter was dropped behind the American line by an airplane. Homma said:
[Homa] “The question is how long you will be able to resist. You have already cut rations by half. . . . Your prestige and honor have been upheld. However, in order to avoid needless bloodshed and save your . . . troops, you are advised to surrender. . . . Failing that, our offensive will be continued with inexorable force.”
[Narrator] To his credit, Homma truly did want to save lives – both those of his own men and of the enemy. He was criticized by his Japanese superiors for becoming too infected by Western ideas.
MacArthur just happened to be inspecting the American front line the day that letter was dropped. During the front-line tour, under-General Jonathan “Skinny” Wainwright asked MacArthur if he’d like to inspect the large 155-mm guns, MacArthur responded:
[MacArthur] “I don’t want to see them, I want to hear them.”
[Narrator] He’d soon get just that opportunity. When Homma’s message reached MacArthur’s hands, the American general saw no reason to offer a written reply to such impertinence.
Instead, the only response Homma received to his surrender demand was increased action from the American artillery. Because the Japanese leadership had been wrong . . . the US forces weren’t demoralized. They weren’t afraid of fire fights. They weren’t going to just give up to an invasion army.
No, the American and Filipino troops on Bataan were going to fight for The Philippines. And that fight had only just begun.
This is Left Behind.

Podcast Welcome
Welcome to “Left Behind,” a podcast about the people left behind when the US surrendered The Philippines in the early days of WW2.
I’m Anastasia Harman, and I tell you the stories of WW2 servicemen and women, civilians, guerillas, and others captured by Japanese forces in The Philippines. My great-grandfather Alma Salm was one of the POWs, and his memoir inspired me to tell stories of his fellow captives.
Welcome the first of 3 episodes honoring Bataan’s 3 Medal of Honor recipients: Alexander Nininger, Jose Calugas, and Willibald Bianchi. We’ll learn the heroic stories of these three men and others over the course of the next several episodes.
This episode focuses on the first Medal of Honor winner of World War 2 – Alexander Nininger. The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor that a US serviceman or woman can receive. And relatively few in US history have.
We’ll also take a journey with a native Filipino soldier named Narciso Ortilano, whose actions earned him the Distinguished Service Cross, which is the second highest US Army award.
As you listen to this episode, you’ll notice I have A LOT more information on the US-born Nininger than I have for native-Filipino Ortilano. Finding records and information about native-Filipino servicemen who did not immigrate to the US in their later years is challenging for me. However, I feel it’s vitally important to tell their stories with whatever information I can find. Still, there is an unfortunate information gap that I am looking for ways to overcome.
Now, both Nininger and Ortilano were members of Philippine Scout 57th Infantry regiment. You may recall from past episodes that the Philippine Scouts were US Army units consisting mainly of highly trained native Filipino servicemen, with American officers. The Philippine Scouts have been called the “backbone of Bataan.” And the heroic actions of Nininger and Ortilano absolutely represent that moniker.
One of these men was very young. The other in his early 40s. One was single with a thirst for duty. The other was married with children and fighting for his homeland.
Let’s jump in.

POW’s Life Story
Before the War
[Narrator] Narciso Ortilano was born in The Philippines on February 17, 1897, to parents Pablo Ortilano and Lucia Gronogoven. In August 1919, the 22-year-old enlisted in the US Army’s Philippine Scouts.
He married Esperanza Guntalelern in Laoag City, which is in the very north part of Luzon island, The Philippines largest island. The city is about 285 miles/460 km north of the Bataan Peninsula. The couple had at least 2 children during the 1930s.
I’m not certain if Ortilano remained in the Philippine Scouts all the way through to WW2. I found an August 1940 US Army enlistment record for him. Since I know he was in the Army as early as 1919, I’m not certain if he left the Army and re-entered in 1940, or if he remained in the Army the entire time and had to do some re-enlistment paperwork in 1940.
Well, that August 1940 enlistment record records that Narciso was 43 years old, 5’6” tall, weighed 125 pounds, and has experience as a taxi, bus, or tractor driver.

[Narrator] Alexander Ramsey Nininger – the Third – was born on October 30, 1918, in Gainesville, Georgia (which is about 55 miles/88 km north east of Altana). His parents were Alexander “Alec” Ramsey Nininger Jr and Myrtle Craig. He had one older sister.
Father Alec was a theater manager and was the black sheep of his family. He moved around a lot, and according to family story may have been in a theater troupe before becoming a theater manager. He had a wife before Myrtle, and the family says he may have abandoned her and their daughter.
Alexander Nininger III, who we’re focusing on today, was nicknamed Sandy and went by that name throughout his life. His official name was Alexander Ramsey Nininger the Third, but most records give him the title of “Jr.” I don’t know why, because his father and grandfather both had the same name – Alexander Ramsey Nininger – making Sandy the third Nininger man with that name.
The “Ramsey” in their name came from Sandy’s great-grandmother, whose maiden name was Ramsey. Her brother was the first governor of Minnesota, and her son was the first Alexander Ramsey Nininger (that is, Sandy’s grandfather).
The Nininger and Ramsey families have deep, prestigious roots in Minnesota, especially in the St. Paul area. The town of Nininger in Minnesota, which is now a ghost town, was named after the Nininger family.
Sandy’s grandfather, Alexander Nininger Sr, attended West Point in the early 1860s and was in the Army just after the Civil War. He then became a deputy US marshal in Huntsville, Alabama, in the early ’90s – the 1890s, that is.
Besides his grandfather, Sandy’s family tree is filled military men. Sandy’s Uncle Charles (father Alec’s brother) served overseas for 10 months during in WW1. Sandy’s great-grandfather John Nininger appears to have been in the military during the Civil War and was recommended to be appointed as Inspector of Horses in Chicago, Illinois, during the war. And Sandy’s 2nd great-grandfather Anthony Nininger (who was an immigrant to the US), reportedly was an officer during the War of 1812.

By January 1920, when Sandy was 15 months old, Alec had moved his family to Tampa, Florida, and Sandy would spend the rest of his childhood in that state. Sometime in the 1920s, Sandy’s parents, Alec and Myrtle, divorced, and Alec soon remarried. In January 1930, Sandy was 11 years old and living in Ft. Lauderdale with his father, stepmother, sister, and stepbrother. Alec was working as a Motion Picture Theater Manager and told a reporter:
[Alec] “[Sandy] had tremendous determination, and from the time he was a small boy he never quit anything he started. He decided when he was about eleven years old he wanted to go to West Point and become an officer in the United States Army. From then on, nothing could stop him.”

While researching Sandy, I’ve learned a lot about his temper and disposition. I often don’t find much, if any, of this type of information about the servicemen and women I research. Several newspaper sources, friends’ reminiscences, and family stories mention how shy, mild mannered, and ultra-determined Sandy was – and seemingly not cut out for the military career he was resolute to have. His first cousin, Richard Nininger, wrote:
[Richard] “As a young boy [Sandy] wanted to go to West Point. Knowing that athletes were favored, he strove to be on the [high school] football team but was too thin and underweight. However, he persisted.”
[Narrator] That quote was read by Richard’s niece Avery Doninger, who is a distant cousin of Sandy’s.
But, despite those disadvantages, Sandy continued questing after a West Point appointment and, during his senior year of high school passed the West Point entrance examination and was admitted. This may be one of the ways he first showed an intense sense of duty. His cousin Richard called it:
[Richard] “A strong desire to finish what he had started. Compulsive.”
[Narrator] I find Richard’s use of the word “compulsive” interesting – and we’ll talk about that more later on in this episode.
In his teen years, Sandy was a devout Christian Scientist, and acted as an usher at his Ft. Lauderdale church. Sandy also developed an interest in the finer things of life – especially music and literature. A newspaper reporter wrote:
[Newspaper] “Nininger was a gentle soul who loved music and poetry. His favorite composer was the romantic, moody Tchaikovsky…
“He was an artist at heart and his secret ambition was to write. His father was an actor who gave him an appreciation of the theater but who was practical enough to chide him once for reading the lovely poetry of Baudelaire in French.”
[Narrator] Baudelaire was a French poet in the mid-1800s.
Sandy never missed a chance to go to the opera or attend some dramatic performance. A West Point friend once recalled a memorable weekend leave with Sandy in New York City – they spent their time visiting museums and attending the opera.
I get the impression the friend didn’t enjoy the weekend as much as Sandy did.
Gen. Hugh Johnson, who knew Sandy at West Point, explained:
[Johnson] “That slight, slender young [cadet] struck me as almost too gentle and modest for the job. … [He was] one of the most shy and retiring men in the corps—at the same time being well loved and respected by everybody.”
And Sandy truly was a popular leader at West Point in the late 1930s and very early ’40s. He was president of the lecture committee and organized several guest lecturers.
Sandy also organized concerts and theater productions. He persuaded singer Helen Jepson – a famous soprano with the Metropolitan Opera -- to give an afternoon concert at West Point. There’s a picture of Jepson with Sandy after the concert. It’s on my website, the link is in the show description. He also “brought the play “Arsenic and Old Lace” to the academy.” I’m not certain if that means he invited a production company to perform or if he oversaw the play’s production himself. Regarding Sandy, the West Point Yearbook stated:
[Yearbook] “’Tis not what man does which exalts him, but what man would do!' It was Sandy's good fortune to be provided with the means and the background necessary to know and appreciate the many arts. His interest in the theatre, a devotion to books and music, and a love for painting make him an excellent conversationalist.”
[Narrator] Sandy graduated West Point in June 1941 as a 2nd Lieutenant. He planned to spend his first Army paycheck on a phonograph and some symphony records. Gen. Hugh Johnson further said:
[Johnson] “I have seen thousands of young men, but I shall never forget him. He was so gracious, so courteous, had such wonderful charm and so much unaffected modesty combined with virility. I shall always feel his good influence.”

During the War
[Narrator] Shortly after Sandy graduated, he was sent to The Philippines in November 1941 and became a member of the Philippine Scouts 57th Infantry, just as WW2 began. Narcisco Ortilano was also a member of this unit. I don’t know if the men were in the same company or knew each other. But their actions with the 57th Infantry would soon echo across the United States.
The Battle for Bataan started at 3 pm on January 9, 1942, one month after Japan first attacked The Philippines. During late December into early January, all US forces on Luzon Island withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula. For most US Army forces, it was a fighting withdrawal, as they attempted to hold back Japanese forces so that all US forces could get to Bataan.
Of those early days of WW2, President FDR said:
[Audio Clip: FDR 2/23/1942 Fireside chat. “Immediately after this war started…” then 4 more paragraphs ending with “…Opposing General MacArthur in Luzon.”]
Once on Bataan, the US forces established 2 front lines in northern Bataan. The Abucay Line, near the city of Abucay, was on the eastern side of the peninsula, on the northeastern slopes of Mt. Natib, which divided the peninsula’s east coast from the west. Soon thereafter, they would establish the Mauban Line on the western side of the peninsula. The 2 lines were approximately at the same latitude, but separated by mountains.
The 57th Infantry of Philippine Scouts – which Ortilano and Nininger were part of – guarded the eastern most part of the Abucay line – which included the East Road. (I’ve got maps of these areas on my website.) They were supported by Artillery units – so the big guns and cannons.

Infantry fighting began, in earnest, on January 11. (Before that it was mainly artillery fire from both sides.) That night, starting around 11 pm, Japanese infantry reached a sugar cane field that wasn’t well guarded with US infantry, the Americans believing it would be well defended by their artillery.
The Japanese first shelled the American line, which the US’s 24th Artillery answered. Philippine war historian Louis Morton, who wrote the US Army book The War in the Pacific: The Fall of the Philippines, explained:
[Morton] “Hardly had the 24th opened fire than the Japanese infantry jumped off in a banzai attack across the moonlit patch of ground in front of [the Philippine Scouts 57th Infantry’s] Company I. Wave after wave of screaming Japanese troops hurled themselves forward in the face of intense fire. Men in the leading wave threw themselves on the barbed wire entanglements, forming human bridges over which succeeding waves could pass.”
[Narrator] A “Banzai Attack” was an Allied Forces’ term for Japanese human-wave attacks and swarming staged by infantry units. The term came from the Japanese battle cry “Tennōheika Banzai,” meaning “His Majesty the Emperor [shall live to] ten thousand years old.”
So, in many ways, such an attack could often be a suicide attack. Morton continued:
[Morton] “Despite the appalling effects of the pointblank fire from [the American large artillery guns, the Japanese continued their ferocious attack until [the Philippine Scouts 57th Infantry’s] Company I…finally gave ground.”
[Narrator] With the PS companies being pushed back from the front line, the 57th commander sent in a reserve company into the melee. But, when those reinforcements failed to stop the Japanese attack and advance, the commander sent in a second reserved unit. That addition, finally, stalled the Japanese attack. Morton continued:
[Morton] At the approach of dawn, the [Philippine] Scouts [57th Infantry] began a counterattack which took them almost to the original line. When the action was broken off on the morning of the 12th, there were an estimated 200 to 300 dead Japanese on the field of battle.”
[Narrator] During this fight, Private Narciso Ortilano was manning a machine-gun nest – alone -- when 11 Japanese soldiers sprang at him in a bonsai attack. Ortilano killed four soldiers with his machine gun, and then it jammed.
Undaunted, the 45-year-old Filipino pulled out his automatic pistol and killed 5 more, shooting until his ammunition was spent.
Ortilano was now weaponless and facing 2 enemies armed with bayoneted rifles. One of the soldiers thrust at Ortilano with a fixed bayonet, and Ortilano grabbed the rifle. Reports aren’t 100% clear, but he may have grabbed the bayonet’s blade, severing his thumb. Or, that original thrust may have severed the thumb. Either way, Ortilano’s thumb was severed from his hand during the skirmish.
But, despite this wound, Ortilano wrestled that rifle away from the soldier, just as he was wounded in the back by the second Japanese soldier. An official record states:
[Citation] “During the brief struggle, [Ortilano] was wounded in the back by the remaining hostile soldier, whom he killed with the bayonet which he had wrested from the first. Turning, he fired upon and killed the first of the two enemies who, by this time, was fleeing.”
[Narrator] He had single-handedly taken down an entire platoon of Japanese soldiers.
When his platoon mates got to his position, they found Oritilano working to repair the jammed machine gun while bleeding profusely from his injuries. He was taken to Bataan’s Field Hospital #1 (which I described in Episode 15), where they treated his severed thumb. I haven’t found records of whether he was allowed to return to battle after his wound healed.

Newspapers around the United States touted Ortilano’s actions:
[Paper 1] “First Class Private Narciso Ortilano has just set a new Bataan province record. He has killed 11 Japanese soldiers, single-handed, in one engagement.”
[Paper 3] “This one-man gang, representing a race of soldiers which two generals and a marine colonel on Bataan Peninsula have described as the finest in the world, got in his licks against the Japanese in a recent hand-to-hand battle.
[Paper 2] “Ortilano, a veteran in the Philippines Scouts, has been recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross by his commanding officer.”
[Narrator] He did receive that Distinguished Service Cross, the US Army’s second highest service award, for his actions in the machine-gun nest. After recounting the details of the fight, the citation reads:
[Citation] “Private First Class Ortilano's intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the Philippine Scouts.”

[Narrator] While Ortilano was heading to the Bataan field hospital, the Philippine Scouts 57th Infantry and Sandy Nininger continued fighting the Japanese.
During the attack on the night of January 11-12 (the same night Ortilano was injured), some Japanese soldiers infiltrated into the Philippine Scouts 57th Infantry’s 3rd Battalion area. The 57th Infantry soldiers spent January 12 looking for and eliminating Japanese soldiers, one-by-one in hand-to-hand combat. But this caused a lot Philippine Scout causalities and deaths, so the 57th assembled sniper parties with riflemen and demolition engineers. These parties began a systematic search of the area for Japanese infiltrators.
Lt. Alexander Nininger led one of the sniper parties. And, actually, he wasn’t even part of the company participating in these sniper parties. His own company wasn’t engaged in combat at the time – I believe they were being held in the rear as reinforcements. A military citation explained,
[Citation] “This officer, though assigned to another company not then engaged in combat, voluntarily attached himself to Company K … while that unit was being attacked by enemy forces superior in firepower. Enemy snipers in trees and foxholes had stopped a counterattack to regain part of the position. In the hand-to-hand fighting which followed, 2d Lt. Nininger repeatedly forced his way to and into the hostile position.”
[Narrator] At some point he became separated from the rest of his sniper party. Alone, armed with hand grenades and a rifle, and already wounded three times, Sandy continued pushing far into the enemy positions, attacking with the grenades and his rifle. The citation continues:
[Citation] “Though exposed to heavy enemy fire, he continued to attack with rifle and hand grenades and succeeded in destroying several enemy groups in foxholes, and enemy snipers.
[Narrator] Some newspaper accounts suggest Sandy’s actions forced a somewhat large-scale enemy retreat. I think that might be exaggeration. Although the idea of one man with a rifle and grenades causing a large number of enemy soldiers to retreat makes a good story, it doesn’t seem all that likely… Although, I’d love to be proved wrong.
When the 57th Infantry finally secured the position and pushed out all the Japanese, they found Sandy’s body. Next to him were the bodies of a Japanese officer and two soldiers.
The 23-year-old – who was just 7 months into his dreamed-of military career -- had sacrificed his life to secure the American line.

[Narrator] Lt. Sandy Nininger became the first person in WW2 to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, the United States’ military’s highest award. A US War Department press release touted:
[Release] “First to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II was Second Lieutenant Alexander Ramsey Nininger Jr., of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., for heroism in action January 12, 1942 on Bataan during the first days of our war against the empire of Japan.”
[Narrator] It went on to describe the action for which he received the medal as well as to describe Sandy’s life and character. He became a national hero during a time when the Unites States, still licking its wounds from Pearl Harbor, needed a hero. Newspapers around the United States ran the story.
Note here, although the Medal of Honor was awarded to Sandy first, several other US servicemen would later receive the Medal of Honor for actions earlier in the war, including a Filipino soldier named Jose Calugas, who we’ll meet in an upcoming episode.
[Narrator] Sandy’s Medal of Honor was presented to his father, Alec Nininger, at a military headquarters in Tampa, Florida, on February 10, 1942 – barely a month after Sandy died, and just 2 months into WW2.

US newspapers printed stories, headlines, and pictures of the ceremony, and again recounted Sandy’s heroic actions. Several newspapers even found ways to connect the hero with their own communities – such as a Huntsville, Alabama, newspaper that, under the headline “Nininger Family Once Lived Here,” explained how Sandy’s grandfather (the first Alexander Ramsey Nininger) was a US Marshal in Huntsville and “made a host of warm friends.”
Newspapers interviewed or published letters from friends of Nininger, including General Hugh S. Johnson, who knew Sandy at West Point. In a letter to the NY Times, he wrote:
[Johnson] “[The Medal of Honor] decoration is the hardest in the world to get. In all our wars, only a few have been awarded. The act must not be merely brave—it must be brave beyond belief and be, by no stretch of the imagination, one that could not reasonably be expected of any soldier in line of duty.”
[Narrator] Sandy’s father Alec told a newspaper:
[Alec] “We’re terribly proud. It’s just like him. He had tremendous determination, and from the time he was a small boy he never quit anything he started. … [His death] is a great blow. [But I’m glad he] did his duty right through to the end, just as he always did.”
[Narrator] Determination. Duty. Never quitting.
The words are used so often in describing Sandy – both for the way his lived his life and his last self-sacrificing action.
In some ways, those descriptions seem so opposite of the other terms the same people used to describe him: Retiring. Shy. Gentle. Modest. Romantic.
Sandy’s 1st cousin Richard Nininger added another word to those descriptions: “Compulsive.” He wrote that Sandy had
[Dick] “A strong desire to finish what he had started. Compulsive.”
[Narrator] Of Sandy’s actions on Bataan, Richard described:
[Dick] “Adrenaline flowing and without regard for the consequences, his compulsive sense of duty and romantic disposition clouded his sense of reality.”
[Narrator] Cousin Richard, who died in October 2022, was nearly 10 years younger than Sandy, but he did know the young Lieutenant. Dick even lived with Sandy’s father Alec and stepmother during the WW2 years, beginning shortly after Sandy died.
So given those circumstances, I find his comments regarding Sandy very interesting – especially the “compulsive” part.
In 2004, author Malcom Gladwell, famous for authoring the book Tipping Point and others, wrote an article for Annals of Psychology that featured Sandy’s actions on Bataan. In it, Gladwell said:
[Gladwell] “[Nininger] didn’t know that he was fearless and ferocious.”
[Narrator] On a printed-out version of this article, cousin Richard handwrote this response:
[Dick] “He wasn’t [fearless or ferocious], see above.”
[Narrator] referring to his own earlier notes about Sandy’s tendency to compulsion and romanticism. (If you’re interested in the Malcom Gladwell article, I’ve linked to it in the sources section on this episode’s webpage.)
Sandy’s cousin Richard’s comments have really made me ponder the frame of mind Sandy would have been in during those last moments of his life. What really did drive Sandy into those Japanese positions and foxholes – alone and voluntarily (because, remember, he wasn’t officially part of the company assigned to this mission)?
Determination. Adrenaline. Gentleness. Compulsion. Modesty. Duty.
I find myself wondering, what characteristics truly define a hero.

[Narrator] Along somewhat similar lines, I had the opportunity to speak with Sandy’s nephew, John Patterson. (John’s mother was Sandy’s older sister.) John met Sandy once as a child, just after Sandy had graduated from West Point. John remembers Sandy showing him his uniform.
When John was older, he wanted to know more about his uncle and the actions for which he received the Medal of Honor. At first John wondered if the United States needed a hero and made Sandy that hero—perhaps by exaggerating Sandy’s actions in combat. Was Sandy, in fact, worthy of such an award?
John had the opportunity to speak with Sandy’s comrades in arms, including a sergeant who served under Sandy and who went with Sandy during their first foray into the battle. Manny’s and other accounts quickly convinced John that Sandy’s heroic actions on January 12 were true, not exaggerated, and absolutely worthy of the medal.
John told me:
[Patterson] “Sandy certainly was an inspiration for a desperate time, especially on the home front. I’m very proud of him.”

After the War & Legacy
[Narrator] In May 1943, about 16 months after Sandy’s death, Philippines President Manuel L. Quezon, who was exiled in the US at the time wrote a letter to Nininger’s father, saying:
[Quezon] “Filipinos will never forget your son nor any of his brave countrymen who helped us defend our homeland.”

[Narrator] Today, the First Division of Cadet Barracks at West Point is named in Sandy’s honor, as is the Nininger Range at the Infantry School in Ft. Benning, Georgia, and the Alexander “Sandy” Nininger State Veteran’ Nursing Home in Florida. Two WW2-era US Navy transport ships were also named after him.
In 2006, West Point created The Alexander R. Nininger Award for Valor at Arms. It is given to West Point grads who display courage in combat while upholding the school’s values.
Sandy’s nephew, John Paterson, wrote:
[Patterson] “My uncle's heroism has been commemorated in a number of ways including the naming of a building at West Point and erection of a statue in his home town of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. And, of course, the "quiet hero" lives on in the hearts of his family and those who knew him.”

[Narrator] Turning our attention back to Narciso Ortilano…
In February 1943, Pathe News – a United Kingdom producer of documentaries and news reels – made a movie about Narciso Ortilano’s heroic actions on Bataan. It was called “There Shall Be Freedom” and was scheduled to be released immediately in South America and, after the war, in The Philippines. I searched for the film, but couldn’t find it online or even on the producer’s digital archives. IMDB doesn’t have a record of the film either.
Bummer.
In April 1945, so just after the US returned to The Philippines, Ortilano was admitted to the military’s General Hospital (in the Philippines). The medical record says he was in for refitting for amputation of thumb and for chronic and advanced Tuberculosis. The doctors apparently forced air into the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs in order to collapse the lung. (I’m not certain why or how this helps with Tuberculosis, and I couldn’t easily find answers online.) Ortilano remained in the hospital until October 1947 – according to the military hospital records I found. He was discharged from the Army for disability at that time, as well.
And, sadly, that’s really all I have discovered about Narciso for the next 3 decades.
On September 28, 1981, 83-year-old Narcisco Ortilano died in the Philippines. I haven’t discovered where he is buried.

[Narrator] Similarly, I do not know the whereabouts of Sandy’s remains.
Sandy’s remains were officially reported in US Army documents as resting in the Saint Dominic Parish Church Cemetery, Grave 9, in the town of Abucay on Bataan. However, today we know that information is false, given to US Army officials and Sandy’s own family by an individual no longer on Bataan when Sandy died.
Thus, due to the inaccurate information, Sandy’s remains could not be identified after the war, when US officials sought to find the battlefield graves of American servicemen and reinter them in national or hometown cemeteries.
So Sandy’s remains are considered non-recoverable.
Today his name is inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery. And a cenotaph in his honor was erected at Arlington National Cemetery. (A cenotaph is a monument or grave marker for someone buried elsewhere.)
However, several people including Sandy’s nephew John Paterson -- believe Sandy’s remains are buried in a grave marked “Unknown” at the Manila American Cemetery. According to a 2017 news article, the Nininger family believes that
[Reporter] “The lieutenant's bones rest in grave J-7-20 at the American Cemetery in Manila. For 70 years, the family has been pressing the military to identify the remains and bring the fallen lieutenant home.”
[Narrator] That same year, Patterson and several others sued the US Department of Defense to make them identify the remains of Sandy and six others considered Missing in Action and/or Non-Recoverable. The petition argued that:
[Reporter] “by not using readily available DNA testing to identify the remains, the department is flouting its legal duty to track down ‘missing persons from past conflicts or their remains after hostilities have ceased.’”
[Narrator] I’ve discovered that there are many instances of misidentification of remains and of remains being sent back to the United States, reinterred in military or hometown cemeteries, only to later discover the remains in those graves are not those they purport to be.
Included in that list is Nininger’s best friend and fellow West Point graduate.

More on that next time.
This is Left Behind

Outro
Thanks for listening! You can find pictures, maps, and sources about Ortilano’s and Nininger’s stories on my website; the link is in the show description. If you’d like to know more about the Battles on Bataan I suggest the book The War in the Pacific: The Fall of The Philippines by Louis Morton.
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe so you’ll get notifications when new episodes drop. And please share it with a friend. Also consider leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Spreading the word about this podcast left me continue sharing these amazing stories.
Left Behind is researched, written, and produced by me, Anastasia Harman.
- Voice overs by:
- Special thanks to: Aubrey Doninger and John Patterson for their help and information regarding Sandy Nininger.
- Dramatizations are based on historical research, although some creative liberty is taken with dialogue.
I’ll be back next time with the journey to identify the remains of two Bataan heroes.

Sources
ORTILANO
“Roster of Active Philippine Scouts in 1945,” Philippine Scouts Heritage Society, accessed 3 April 2023.
Richard Paulson, “One Year Ago This Week, BATAAN Taught Us: Free Men Will Fight!” Detroit Free Press, 04 Apr 1943, Page 59, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 3 April 2023.
Narcisco Ortilano entry, “U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2014, original data: Social Security Administration, Social Security Death Index, Master File, Social Security Administration, accessed 3 April 2023.
Narciso Ortilano and Esperanza Guntalelern entry, 3 May 1925, “Philippines, Select Marriages, 1723-1957,” Database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2014, original data: Philippines, Marriages, 1723-1957, Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013, accessed 3 April 2023.
Narciso G Ortilano entry, “U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2011, original data: Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, accessed 3 April 2023.
Narciso Ortilano, "Philippines Marriages, 1723-1957" • FamilySearch; Norciso Ortilano in entry for Jesus Ortilano, "Philippines Marriages, 1723-1957" • FamilySearch; Narciso Ortilano in entry for Celso Dela Cruz, "Philippines Marriages, 1723-1957" • FamilySearch, accessed 3 April 2023.
Narciso Ortilano entry, “US, World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2005, original data: National Archives and Records Administration, Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946 [Archival Database], ARC: 1263923, “World War II Army Enlistment Records,” Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 64, National Archives at College Park, College Park, Maryland, accessed 3 April 2023.
“Filipino Who Killed 11 Japs Is Hero of New Film,” The Evening Star, Washington, DC, 8 February 1943, online at GenealogyBank.com, accessed 3 April 2023.
“One Year Ago This Week, BATAAN Taught Us: Free Men Will Fight!” Detroit Free Press.
“Igorots, Lovers of War, Have Big Time at Bataan,” Great Falls Tribune, Great Falls, Montana, 21 Feb 1942, Page 4, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 3 April 2023.
“Private Kills 11 Japanese,” Ventura County Star, Ventura, California, 20 Feb 1942, page 7, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 3 April 2023.
Frank Hewlett, “Filipino Kills 11 Japs in a Row,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, 21 February 1942, online at GenealogyBank.com, accessed 3 April 2023.
Narcisco Ortilano - Recipient - (militarytimes.com), accessed 3 April 2023.
Narciso Ortilano entry, April 1945, “U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954,” database online: Lehi, Utah: Ancestry.com, 2019, original data: Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. 1970 - ca. 1970. NAID: 570973. Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army), 1775 - 1994. Record Group 12. The National Archives at College Park, MD. USA, accessed 3 April 2023.
“Filipino Who Killed 11 Japs Is Hero of New Film,” The Evening Star, Washington, DC, 8 February 1943, online at GenealogyBank.com, accessed 3 April 2023.
Narciso Ortilano entry, April 1945, “U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954,” database online: Lehi, Utah: Ancestry.com, 2019, original data: Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. 1970 - ca. 1970. NAID: 570973. Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army), 1775 - 1994. Record Group 12. The National Archives at College Park, MD. USA, accessed 3 April 2023.
Narcisco Ortilano entry, “U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2014, original data: Social Security Administration, Social Security Death Index, Master File, Social Security Administration, accessed 3 April 2023.

NININGER
Alexander R. Nininger entry, “U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2014, original data: Cemetery Records, Records of the American Battle Monuments Commission, Arlington, VA., Headstone Inscription and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942–1949, Series A1 43, NAI ID: 7408555, Records of the American Battle Monuments Commission, 1918–ca. 1995, Record Group 117, The National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C, accessed 3 April 2023.
Alexander R. Nininger Jr. entry, “Web: U.S., Congressional Medal of Honor Society Recipients, 1839-2012,” database online: Ancestry.com, Lehi, Utah, 2019m original data: Congressional Medal of Honor Society Recipients, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, USA: Congressional Medal of Honor Society, accessed 3 April 202.
“Atlanta Youth, Killed in Action, Gets Medal,” The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, 30 Jan 1942, page 1, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 3 April 2023.
Conversation between Anastasia Harman and Avery Doninger, a distant cousin of Alexander R. Nininger III, 15 March 2023.
“Nininger Family Once Lived Here,” The Huntsville Times, Hunstville, Alabama, 30 Jan 1942, page 5, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 3 April 2023.
Alexander R. Nininger family, Tampa Ward 4, Hillsborough, Florida, “1920 Census | 1920 US Federal Census Records,” Database online: Ancestry.com, Lehi, UT, 2010, original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920 (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls), Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C, accessed 3 April 2023.
Alexr Ramsay Nininger entry, “U.S., Military and Naval Academies, Cadet Records and Applications, 1800-1908,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2008, original data: Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780’s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C., accessed 11 April 2023
Charles Mackubin Nininger entry, “Georgia, U.S., World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919,” database onlie; Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2013, original data: Georgia Adjutant General’s Office. World War I Statements of Service Cards. Georgia State Archives, Morrow, Georgia, accessed 11 April 2023
John Nininger entry, 1864, “U.S., Union Provost Marshals' Papers, 1861-1867,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2012, original data: Union Provost Marshals' File of Papers Relating to Individual Civilians, 1861–1867, Microfilm publication M345, 300 rolls, NAID: 2133278, War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109, The National Archives in Washington, D.C., accessed 11 April 2023.
Richard A Nininger, handwritten notes on an email from Sig Nininger, 25 December 2005, PDF, sent to Anastasia Harman by Avery Doninger, 13 March 2023.
[1] Alexander Nininger family, Precinct #6, Fort Lauderdale City, Broward, Florida, “1930 US Federal Census Records,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2002, original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census, Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930, T626, 2,667 rolls, accessed 3 April 2023.
[1] Alexander R. Nininger entry, Highlands, Orange, New York, “1940 United States Federal Census,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2012, Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940, T627, 4,643 roll, accessed 3 April 2023.
“Medal Awarded Posthumously to Floridian,” The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida, 11 Feb 1942, page 6, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 3 April 2023.
Alexander Ramsey Nininger Jr entry, U.S., War Department, Press Releases and Related Records, 1942-1945,” database online: Ancestry.com, Lehi, Utah, 2015. Original data: Press Releases and Related Records, compiled 1942–1945, NAID: 1565957, Record Group 337: Records of Headquarters Army Ground Forces, 1916–1956, The National Archives at Washington, D.C., accessed 3 April 2023.
Alexander R. Nininger - Wikipedia, accessed 3 April 2023.
William Lyon Phelps, Letter to the Editor of The New York Times, newspaper clipping in scrapbook, PDF, sent to Anastasia Harman by Avery Doninger, 13 March 2023.
“Gen. Hugh S. Johnson, “Feat of War Hero Stands as Unique,” newspaper and date unknown, part of newspaper clippings scrapbook, PDF, sent to Anastasia Harman by Avery Doninger, 13 March 2023.
Louis Morton, “Chapter 16: The First Battle of Bataan,” The War in the Pacific: The Fall of the Philippines (archive.org), (Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1953), page 265-295, online at Internet Archive, Wayback Machine, accessed 4 April 2023.
Banzai charge - Wikipedia, accessed 4 April 2023
“Highest Honor Given Hero of Luzon Battle,” Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon, 30 Jan 1942, Page 2, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 3 April 2023.
“Atlanta Youth, Killed in Action, Gets Medal,” The Atlanta Constitution,Atlanta, Georgia, 30 Jan 1942, page 1, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 3 April 2023.
John A. Patterson, “Philippine Scout Heroes of World War II, online at Philippine Scouts Heritage Society (archive.org), accessed 3 April 2023.
1LT Alexander Ramsey “Sandy” Nininger Jr memorial, Fina A Grave, accessed 3 April 2023.
Dave Philipps, “Philippines WWII hero's family suing in decades-long fight to identify remains,” online article, The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 May 2017, accessed 3 April 2023.
“Medal of Honor Granted to Hero Killed in Luzon,” newspaper name and date unknown, part of newspaper clippings scrapbook, PDF, sent to Anastasia Harman by Avery Doninger, 13 March 2023.
“Filipinos Won’t Forget,” The Bradenton Herald, Bradenton, Florida, 06 May 1943, page 8, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 3 April 2023.
Alexander R. Nininger Jr entry, “U.S., World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred Overseas,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2000; original data: National Archives and Records Administration, Register, World War II Dead Interred in American Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil and World War II and Korea Missing or Lost or Buried at Sea, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, accessed 3 April 2023.
Anastasia Harman and John Patterson (nephew of Alexander Nininger III) phone conversation, 26 April, 2023, notes in possession of Anastasia Harman
Anastasia Harman and John Eakin phone conversation, 28 April 2023, notes in possession of Anastasia Harman. (John Eakin runs the website BataanMissing.com.)