Mark J. Alexander

Who was Mark J. Alexander?

Mark James Alexander was a U.S. Army officer and Paratrooper during World War II.

Born in Lawrence, Kansas Alexander was the second of four brothers, all of whom would serve in the Army during the war. He worked his way through college and received a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Kansas in 1939. While working towards a masters degree, the father of a friend convinced him that war was on the horizon and the United States would be involved. Instead of waiting to be drafted, Alexander signed up with the National Guard in 1940 as a private. Then passed a competitive exam and received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant.

By the end of 1941 he had volunteered for the paratroopers and was soon transferred to 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. The 505th soon became part of the 82nd Airborne Division.

After the division was shipped to North Africa, Alexander became commander of the 2nd Battalion, 505th eleven days prior to the regiments first combat jump. Within a year he led three battalions of elite airborne troops into battle in Sicily, Italy and Normandy and served as executive officer for two regiments. So skilled was he in combat, the generals often used him to fill holes in the lines, until being seriously wounded, and almost dying during the Normandy campaign. He recovered and was promoted to colonel in the reserves after WWII, but the shrapnel that remained in his chest made him unfit for a career in the military.