Rod Skinner, Milton Class of 1972 and director of college counseling, was the 2016 Veterans Day speaker. Rod told the story of his uncle and namesake, Sherrod E. Skinner Jr. ’47, a Medal of Honor recipient who served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, where he gave his life for his country. Reading a citation from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Rod said the Medal of Honor—the military’s highest award—recognized his uncle’s “indomitable fighting spirit, superb leadership and great personal valor in the face of tremendous odds.” In October 1952, during an ambush by North Korean troops just days before his 23rd birthday, 2nd Lt. Skinner sacrificed his life by throwing his body on a grenade, an attempt to save his fellow Marines. Rod has always been inspired by his uncle’s “shining light.” Rod encouraged students to approach differences with empathy; to celebrate their connectedness to other people; to be sympathetic to the pain that comes from losing a loved one in war; to avoid living life “at a smug distance”; to stand bravely for what they believe; and to “first seek to understand, and then move forward.”
“For what belief, cause or position would you risk unpopularity? What do you care about? If we confront the real tests of our lives without heart, we are lost.”