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'Alvin Cullum York' (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964) was a United States soldier, famous for both his being a conscientious objector and hero in World War I. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, killing 25 German soldiers and capturing 132 others during the US led Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France.

Contents

Early life

World War I 1917-1918

Medal of Honor

Post-war life

Death and Legacy

See also

Notes

References

External links

Early life

Alvin York was born in Pall Mall, Tennessee, to William and Mary Elizabeth York. The Yorks were farmers who supplemented their income through hunting, where Alvin became an expert marksman. After the death of his father in 1911, Alvin abandoned the Christian faith he was raised with. He wrote in his diary that he "broke off from my mother's and father's advice and got to drinking and gambling and playing up right smart…I used to drink a lot of moonshine. I used to gamble my wages away week after week. I used to stay out late at nights. I had a powerful lot of fistfights."
Alvin York's diary. But in early 1915, he experienced a religious reawakening at a revival meeting. Owing to this conversion, and his belief in the Bible, York filed as a conscientious objector during World War I, supported by his mother and pastor.^[1]

World War I 1917-1918

Despite having registered as a conscientious objector, York was inducted into the United States Army and served in Company G, 328th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Infantry Division at Camp Gordon, Georgia. Discussion of the biblical stance on war with his company commander and his battalion commander eventually convinced York that warfare could be justified.
On 8 October, 1918, York's batallion was involved in an attack that would earn him a Medal of Honor.
The mission was to take the German Decauville rail-line, thus cutting off lateral support behind the German lines and force the Germans out of the Argonne Forest. This forest was in the German hands for four years and was heavily fortified. The attack took the 328th up a funnel shaped valley, which became narrower as they advanced. On all three sides of the valley were steep ridges, occupied by German machine gun emplacements and infantry troops. As the Americans advanced, they encountered intense German machine gun fires from the left and right flanks and the front. Soon, German artillery poured in upon them, forcing the American attack to stall. The Americans were caught in a deadly cross-fire. York recalled:
''The Germans got us, and they got us right smart. They just stopped us dead in our tracks. Their machine guns were up there on the heights overlooking us and well hidden, and we couldn’t tell for certain where the terrible heavy fire was coming from…And I'm telling you they were shooting straight. Our boys just went down like the long grass before the mowing machine at home. Our attack just faded out… And there we were, lying down, about halfway across [the valley] and those German machine guns and big shells getting us hard.''
The German fire took a heavy toll on the regiment. Seventeen men under the command of Sergeant Bernard Early (which included York) infiltrated behind the German lines to take out the machine guns. The group worked their way behind the Germans and overran the headquarters of a German unit, capturing a large group of German soldiers who were preparing to counter-attack against the US troops. Early’s men were contending with the prisoners when they took machine gun fire that killed six. The losses put York in charge of the seven remaining US soldiers. As his men remained under cover, and guarding the prisoners, York worked his way into position to silence the German machine guns.
York recalled: ''And those machine guns were spitting fire and cutting down the undergrowth all around me something awful. And the Germans were yelling orders. You never heard such a racket in all of your life. I didn't have time to dodge behind a tree or dive into the brush... As soon as the machine guns opened fire on me, I began to exchange shots with them. There were over thirty of them in continuous action, and all I could do was touch the Germans off just as fast as I could. I was sharp shooting. I don't think I missed a shot. It was no time to miss… All the time I kept yelling at them to come down. I didn't want to kill any more than I had to. But it was they or I. And I was giving them the best I had.''
One of York’s prisoners, German First Lieutenant Vollmer, emptied his pistol trying to kill York while he was contended with the machine guns. Failing to injure York, and seeing his mounting loses, he offered to surrender the unit to York, which was gladly accepted. By the end of the engagement, York and his seven men marched 132 German prisoners back to the American lines. His actions silenced the German machine guns and were responsible for enabling the 328th Infantry Regiment to renew the offensive to capture the Decauville Railroad.
York was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism, but this was upgraded to the Medal of Honor, which was presented to York by the commanding general of the American Expeditionary Force, General John J. Pershing. The French Republic, awarded him the Croix de Guerre and Legion of Honor. Italy and Montenegro, awarded him; Croce di Guerra and War Medal, respectively.
York was a Corporal during the action. His promotion to sergeant was part of the honor for his valor. Of his deeds York said to his division commander, General Duncan, in 1919: "A higher power than man power guided and watched over me and told me what to do."
Sergeant York along with several others was selected to be a pallbearer for the tomb of the unknown soldier when it was created.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company G, 328th Infantry, 82d Division. Place and date: Near Chatel-Chehery, France, 8 October 1918. Entered service at: Pall Mall, Tenn. Born: 13 December 1887, Fentress County, Tenn. G.O. No.: 59, W.D., 1919.
'Citation:'
:After his platoon had suffered heavy casualties and 3 other noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Cpl. York assumed command. Fearlessly leading 7 men, he charged with great daring a machinegun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machinegun nest was taken, together with 4 officers and 128 men and several guns.

Post-war life

On June 7, 1919, Alvin York married then 18 year-old Gracie Williams. They had 7 children, all of which named after famous historical figures. York founded Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute, a private agricultural institute in Jamestown, Tennessee, that was
eventually turned over to the State of Tennessee. York also opened a short-lived Bible School, and later operated a mill in Pall Mall on the Wolf River.

Death and Legacy

Alvin York died at the Veterans Hospital in Nashville, TN on September 2, 1964, of a cerebral hemorrhage and was buried at the Wolf River Cemetery in Pall Mall.
York's life story was told in the 1941 movie ''Sergeant York'', with Gary Cooper portraying the title role. York refused to authorize a film version of his life story unless he received a contractual guarantee that Cooper would be the actor to portray him. The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gary Cooper) and Best Film Editing and was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Walter Brennan), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Margaret Wycherly), Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Best Director, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture, Best Picture, Best Sound, Recording and Best Writing, Original Screenplay.
In the 1980s, the United States Army named its DIVAD weapon system "Sergeant York"; the project was cancelled due to technical problems and massive cost overruns.
On May 5, 2000, the United States Postal Service issued the Distinguished Soldiers stamps, in which York was honored.
Laura Cantrell's song "Old Downtown" mentions York in depth.
The riderless horse in the funeral procession of President Ronald Reagan was named Sergeant York.
The 82nd Airborne Division's movie theater at Fort Bragg, North Carolina is named York Theater.
''The Sergeant York Historic Trail is being constructed under the supervision of LTC Douglas Mastriano and the Sergeant York Discovery Expedition in the Argonne, so that all visitors to the Argonne can walk where York walked. Local Boy Scout troops have already started work on the trail. All French officials in the region recently approved the trail and the locations of markers. A large dedication ceremony will be done on the spot of York's feat in a date TBD. A large contingent from the French military and the US Army are expected. More to follow. See [1] for details.''
The traveling football trophy between the teams at Austin Peay, UT Martin, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech is called the Alvin C. York trophy.
The 229th US Army Military Intelligence Battalion, Alpha Company, Monterey California, dedicated their soldier's hall in honor of SGT York. COL Gerald York (US Army, retired, grandson of Alvin York) officiated at the dedication ceremony.

See also

★ List of Medal of Honor recipients

★

Notes

1. His World War I draft registration card is attached. See draft registration card illustration. Also available at ancestry.com (subscription required.)

References

Sources used on the above article. From sources in both the USA and Europe:

★ Alvin York’s Medal of Honor citation
Extracted from York’s Medal of Honor Citation.

★ Richard Wheeler, ed., Sergeant York and the Great War (Mantle Ministries; Bulverde, TX, 1998).

★ The Diary of Alvin York, 18 October 2001 at http://acacia.pair.com/Acacia.Vignettes/The.Diary.of.Alvin.York.html

★ The Diary of SGT York, 18 October 2001 at http://volweb.utk.edu/school/York/diary.html

★ Alice Trulock, In the Hands of Providence, (University of North Carolina Press, 1992), 340.

★ Interview with Colonel Gerald York, grandson of Alvin York, in April 1996.

★ Richard Wheeler, ed., Sergeant York and the Great War (Mantle Ministries; Bulverde, TX, 1998) 58-60.

★ Romans 13.

★ http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/York/biography.html Alvin C. York by Gladys Williams

★ Matthew 5:13-16.

★ Dr. Gustav Strohm, Die Württembergishchen Regimenter im Weltkrieg 1914-1918

★ Das Württembergishche Landwehr Infanterie Regiment (Belser Verlasbuchhandklung; 1922)

★ Baden-Württemberg Hauptstaatsarchiv I Landwehr Regiment Kriegstagebuch

★ Baden-Württemberg Hauptstaatsarchiv - II Landwehr Regiment Kriegstagebuch

★ Baden-Württemberg Hauptstaatsarchiv - III Landwehr Regiment Kriegstagebuch

★ Baden-Württemberg Hauptstaatsarchiv Kriegsrangeliste

★ York, Alvin, Sergeant York: His Own Life Story and War Diary, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran, 1928.

★ Baden-Württemberg Hauptstaatsarchiv, Landwehr Regiment Kriegstagebuch

★ Baden-Württemberg Hauptstaatsarchiv I.5 Landwehr Regiment Kriegstagebuch

★ Baden-Württemberg Hauptstaatsarchiv, II.5 Landwehr Regiment Kriegstagebuch

External links

★ http://www.sgtyorkdiscovery.com/ - website of the discovery of the York battle site and sponsors of the SGT York Historic Trail being constructed in the Argonne Forest, France.

★ "The Diary of Alvin York" by Alvin C. York

★ Church of Christ in Christian Union website of York's Christian affiliation

★ Sergeant York Patriotic Foundation site

★ Alvin C. York Citation: Congressional Medal of Honor Society

★ Medal of Honor Recipients on Film: Alvin Cullum York

★ Photograph; Selective Service Registration Card - US National Archives

★ Sergeant York And His People, by Sam Cowan, 1922, from Project Gutenberg

★ Alvin York and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

★ International Herald Tribune article announcing the discovery of where York earned the Medal of Honor.

★ News covereage of the discovery of where SGT York earned the Medal of Honor