Harry G. Skipper

Harry G. Skipper
Personal details
Birth name	Cecil Skipper Harry C. Skipper
Born	8 May 1920 Illinois
Died	25 February 2009
Nativity	United States
Awards	American Defense Service Ribbon
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	16051110
Rank	Technical Sergeant
Enlisted	Peoria, Illinois
Specialty	Intelligence NCO
Unit / division	y

Awards and honors

American Defense Service Ribbon	American Campaign Medal

European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with one bronze battle star	Good Conduct Medal	World War II Victory Medal

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Harry G. “Cecil” Skipper (8 May 1920 – 25 February 2009) was an Illinois-born Ritchie Boy who completed Division Class 36 at Camp Ritchie and served as an intelligence NCO with the 216th Armored Engineer Battalion.

Biography

Harry G. Skipper, known as Cecil, was born on 8 May 1920 in Illinois. He studied electrical engineering at Millikin University and worked as a stock clerk before enlisting on 11 December 1941. From 2 January to 2 April 1942 he completed Infantry Replacement Training at Camp Roberts, California (Company C, 87th Infantry Training Battalion).

Skipper finished a special Division Class 36 course at Camp Ritchie from 17 November to 15 December 1944, covering German Army fundamentals and Army Information Education. As a technical sergeant with Headquarters Company, 216th Armored Engineer Battalion, he served as an intelligence NCO collecting and distributing enemy information in the Central Europe campaign.

He was honorably discharged at Camp Grant, Illinois, on 19 January 1946. His awards included the American Defense Service Ribbon, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon with one bronze battle star, Good Conduct Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. He died on 25 February 2009.

Research notes

• OCR (95%) of `5747397751948765.jpg` (Discharge) — dated 19 JANUARY 1946 — rank mentioned: Major.
• OCR (95%) of `5749898245032049.jpg` (Discharge) — dated 19 JANUARY 1946 — rank mentioned: Major.
• OCR (94%) of `5747397748615432.jpg` (DISCHARGE, GOOD CONDUCT).
• OCR (94%) of `5749898238365383.jpg` (DISCHARGE, GOOD CONDUCT).

Gallery

• 
  Harry G. “Cecil” Skipper in uniform (profile)
• 
  Harry G. Skipper outdoor portrait in uniform
• 
  Harry G. Skipper civilian portrait
• 
  Cecil Skipper veterans program page, Blue Mound Grade School, 7 November 2002
• 
  Infantry Replacement Training Center certificate, Camp Roberts, 1942
• 
  Camp Ritchie MITC special course certificate, 17 October–15 November 1944
• 
  Army Separation Qualification Record (front), 19 January 1946
• 
  Separation Qualification Record — military / civilian education section (includes Camp Ritchie intelligence course)
• 
  Honorable Discharge certificate, 19 January 1946
• 
  Enlisted Record and Report of Separation — Honorable Discharge

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Nara ASN	16051110
Nara Name	SKIPPER HARRY C
Nara State	61
Nara County	115
Nara POE	6167
Nara DOE	111241
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Race	1
Nara Race Description	White citizen
Nara Height (inches)	68
Nara Weight (lbs)	151
row_source	demographics

Timeline

• 8 May 1920 — Born in Illinois.
• 11 December 1941 — Enlisted.
• 2 January – 2 April 1942 — IRTC, Camp Roberts, California.
• 17 November – 15 December 1944 — Camp Ritchie Division Class 36.
• ETO — Intelligence NCO, HQ Co., 216th Armored Engineer Battalion; Central Europe.
• 19 January 1946 — Honorable discharge, Camp Grant, Illinois.
• 25 February 2009 — Died.

Sources

• Harry G. Skipper civilian portrait
• Harry G. Skipper outdoor portrait in uniform
• Harry G. “Cecil” Skipper in uniform (profile)
• Army separation record, 19 January 1946 (RB Archive)
• Ancestry family tree gallery cited in RB Archive source note
• RB Archive service documents for Harry “Cecil” Skipper (enlistment, Camp Ritchie certificates, separation / discharge, 1946)
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-10-07 (4 posts)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-10-08 (1 post)
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 5747397751948765.jpg
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 5749898245032049.jpg
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 5747397748615432.jpg
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 5749898238365383.jpg
• Camp Roberts certificate for Harry Cecil Skipper, 2 January?2 April 1942
• Camp Ritchie special-course certificate, 17 November?15 December 1944
• Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, 19 January 1946
• Military education and civilian work record for Harry C. Skipper
• Veterans Day profile identifying Skipper as a technical sergeant, 1941?1946