Alek Skarlatos

Alek Skarlatos
Born
Aleksander Reed Skarlatos

(1992-10-10) October 10, 1992 (age 31)
Castro Valley, California, U.S.
Citizenship
  • United States (1992–present)
  • France (2018–present)
Alma materUmpqua Community College
Political partyRepublican
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service2012–2017
Rank Specialist
Unit Oregon Army National Guard
Battles/warsWar in Afghanistan
Awards§ Awards and decorations

Aleksander Reed Skarlatos[1] (/skɑːrˈlɑːtoʊs/; born October 10, 1992) is an American former Army National Guard soldier and political candidate. He along with Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and three others, stopped a gunman on a Paris-bound train travelling from Amsterdam via Brussels in August 2015. He was awarded the United States Army's Soldier's Medal from U.S. President Barack Obama.[2] All six received France's highest decoration, the Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, from French president François Hollande. The Americans were also awarded the medal of the city of Arras.[3][4]

Skarlatos competed on season 21 of ABC's Dancing with the Stars with pro dancer Lindsay Arnold as his partner. They finished in third place.[5] Skarlatos, along with his friends, portrayed themselves in the Clint Eastwood-directed movie The 15:17 to Paris, based on their autobiography, which was written with reporter Jeffrey Stern. Having previously ran for Douglas County commissioner in 2018, he was the Republican nominee for Oregon's 4th congressional district in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections but was defeated by incumbent Democrat Peter DeFazio.[6] He ran again to represent Oregon in the 4th congressional district in the 2022 House elections,[7] but was defeated by Democratic state Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle.[8] Skarlatos is running to represent Oregon's 4th House district in the 2024 Oregon House of Representatives election.[9]

  1. ^ "Guardsman to get Soldiers Medal for subduing gunman on train". National Guard Bureau. August 26, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  2. ^ "Obama lauds 'train heroes' at White House". Yahoo! News. Agence France Presse. September 17, 2015. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  3. ^ Miner, Collin (August 27, 2015). "Alek Skarlatos: 'Good to be home with family'". KOIN6. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  4. ^ "Alek Skarlatos, 2 other Americans receive France's top honor for stopping armed attacker". The Oregonian. Associated Press. August 24, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  5. ^ "Oregon's Train Hero Cast in ABC's New 'Dancing' Cast". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Associated Press. September 2, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kristi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Fordham, Evie (May 2, 2021). "Oregon veteran who thwarted Paris train attack to run again to unseat Democrat DeFazio". Fox News. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  8. ^ Stringer, Grant; Edge, Sami (November 9, 2022). "Val Hoyle wins Oregon's 4th Congressional District race over Alek Skarlatos". Oregon Live. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  9. ^ Shumway, Julia (November 7, 2023). "After failed runs for Congress, Alek Skarlatos seeks state House seat". The Oregonian. Retrieved June 10, 2024.