GEORGE M. SKINNER, 2LT, USMCR
George Skinner '45
George Marion Skinner was admitted to the Naval Academy from Princeton, Illinois on July 18, 1941 at age 18 years 2 months. He resigned on January 14, 1943 with the note "Deficient in studies. Recommended to be dropped. Permitted to resign."
Lucky Bag
George Marion Skinner is listed among those classmates who did not graduate in June 1944 with the Class of 1945.
Midshipman 4/c Skinner in the 1943 Lucky Bag.
Loss
From Naval-History.net:
SKINNER, George M., 2nd Lt., USMCR. Father, Mr. Marion L. Skinner, 804 So. Euclid Ave., Princeton, Ill (na) + SKINNER, George Marion, 26127, HqCo, 3rdBn, 9thMar, 3rdMarDiv, FMF, Marianas Is, July 21, 1944, killed in action (mc)
Unable to find details, but George was killed by a "fragmentation shell" during the invasion of Guam while a member of HQ Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
George graduated from Princeton High School in 1941. He played Henry Aldrich in the senior class play “What a Life.”
In September 1943, George graduated from the Reserve Officers training school at Quantico, Virginia. He spent two weeks with his parents and then went to San Diego for para-marine school.
The Bureau County Tribune on August 18, 1944 reported he entered the Marines immediately following his resignation from the Naval Academy. For a time he was at New Hebrides, where he was the "service boxing champion."
He was survived by his parents, a sister, and a brother. He was first buried in Guam, but later moved Hawaii. George also has a memorial marker in Illinois.
Photographs
From his high school yearbook
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