Jake Allex

Sergeant, U.S. Army

Medal of Honor Recipient

World War I

Sergeant Jake Allex, born Jake Allex Mandusich (13 July 1887 - 28 August 1959) was a U.S. Army soldier who received the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his heroic actions during World War I.

Jake Allex was born on 13 July 1887 in Prizren, Kosovo, Ottoman Empire to ethnic Serbian parents. Allex entered the U.S. Army in Chicago, IL, and returned there following World War I, with the rank of Sergeant. While in the Army he served in Company H, 131st Infantry, 33rd Infantry Division. On 9 August 1918, near Chipilly Ridge, France, Allex's platoon was under heavy attack from German forces and all of the officers had been either wounded or killed. Allex, a Corporal, took command and, leading his platoon forward toward the machinegun nest, his platoon was able to overwhelm the enemy. Allex alone killed five enemy soldiers, and when his bayonet broke, he used the butt of his rifle in close-quarters combat, taking fifteen German prisoners. For his heroism, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company H, 131st Infantry, 33rd Division.

Place and date: At Chipilly Ridge, France, 9 August 1918.

Citation: At a critical point in the action, when all the officers with his platoon had become casualties, Cpl. Allex took command of the platoon and led it forward until the advance was stopped by fire from a machinegun nest. He then advanced alone for about 30 yards in the face of intense fire and attacked the nest. With his bayonet he killed 5 of the enemy, and when it was broken, used the butt of his rifle, capturing 15 prisoners.

Little is known about his life following the First World War.

Death and Burial

Sergeant Jake Allex died on 28 August 1959 in a Veterans Administration hospital in Chicago. He was buried in the Serbian Orthodox Monastery of Saint Sava Cemetery in Libertyville, IL.