Sergeant Alvin York

Bullets whizz over head as several enemy soldiers fire on your position. Your situation isn’t a good one, over half of your squad is dead, you’re stuck behind enemy lines and rescue isn’t likely. As the other survivors hide where they can you alone have a decision to make, surrender or fight? 

Early Life 

Alvin Cullum York was born to William and Mary York on December 13, 1887 in Pall Mall, Tennessee. He was the third of eleven siblings and grew up in a two room log cabin. The family survived by subsistence farming and hunting, York only received three years of schooling before dropping out to help with the family farm. During this time he became a hard worker and an excellent marksman, skills that would help him much later in life. 

In 1911 his father died, leaving York the head of the household. He became a hard drinker and gambler, often participating in fights and came to be known as a very rowdy character to local residents. York originally only attended church because it was the one place he could socialize with the girl he liked. That girl, Gracie Williams, would influence York and help him to experience a religious conversion where he became a deeply devout fundamentalist christian. York was so serious about his beliefs that he quickly became an assistant pastor and church elder to the Church of Christ in Christian Union. This specific sect of Christianity was founded during the American Civil War to protest the violence brought on by it. Through the churches teachings York became a strict pacifist and would often preach on the matter. During this time he led a relatively peaceful life of working on the farm, preaching, and working as a part time blacksmith, but that would all change in 1917.

Courtesy of Global Wesleyan Alliance.

Military Service 

When the United States entered World War One in 1917, York was drafted into the Army. This deeply troubled him as he did not believe he could kill another person due to his faith. He tried to be exempted from the draft on the grounds of being a conscientious objector but the selective service denied his reason. For two days York prayed constantly on the matter and even spent an entire night asking the Lord what he should do. Finally he decided that it was his destiny to go and fight and on November 14, 1917 he entered the armed forces and was placed in the 82nd Infantry Division. 

Members of the 82nd Infantry Division formed up during WW1. Courtesy of the US Army.

York excelled in the service due to his strict self-discipline and exemplary marksmanship, causing him to quickly be promoted over the other privates. However he continued to struggle with his faith and the idea of killing another person. He seeked guidance from two superior officers who were both very devout Christians, and they helped him to understand that he could still follow the Bible while also killing for his nation. Unfortunately word spread about York’s pacifism and other soldiers began ostracizing and openly mocking him for it, but that all changed after he arrived in France in May 1918. 

In September of that year York had to fight in the Saint-Mihiel offensive where he showed great courage in combat by helping to take out German held positions. It was here where he became a non commissioned officer, promoted to Corporal and given command of his own squad. York quickly realized the answer to his dilemma during this time in combat, he would need to fight and kill in order to prevent the bloodshed of his fellow soldiers. 

American soldiers preparing to charge during the Saint-Mihiel Offensive. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Corporal York experienced heavy fighting during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the final major assault to push the German Army out of France. This is when York achieved his claim to fame. On October 8, several German machine gun emplacements were positioned on a hill and preventing American forces from advancing. York and 16 other men were ordered to take out one of these emplacements. The group snuck behind enemy lines and surprised a squad of German gunners, taking them prisoner. While rounding up the prisoners they were flanked by enemy forces and nine of the men, including the commanding officer, were cut down by enemy fire. Six would ultimately be killed by this action. The remaining group of men were pinned down by heavy machine gun and rifle fire. Corporal York, who was now the highest ranking soldier, took command of the situation. A group of six Germans with bayonets fixed began charging their position. York picked them off with his rifle one by one from the last soldier forward, knowing if he killed the front soldier the ones behind would duck down and surely kill him. After downing three soldiers his rifle ran out of ammo and he had to switch to his 1911 pistol, and killed the remaining three. He later attributed his successful tactics to hunting experience back home, saying it was the way they hunted turkeys. 

Artist depiction of Sergeant York fighting fighting the Germans. Courtesy of Break Point.

While the other survivors were taking defensive positions and watching over the prisoners, York charged forward alone into the German forces. Shooting rapidly and with deadly accuracy he downed several machine gunners as they popped their heads up to see where he was, after every couple of shots he would call out asking for their surrender. In his diary he later wrote, “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.” York was firing as quickly and accurately as he could, later recounting, “I was sharpshooting. I don't think I missed a shot. It was no time to miss." His actions inspired the other men from his squad to charge forward and fire at the German positions. The German commander, obviously mistaking the small squad for a much larger force, surrendered his entire garrison of 90 men, pleading for York to “just stop shooting”. 

While returning to American lines York and the others continued to capture prisoners, taking 132 in total! The next day American forces were able to take the German positions and discovered 28 dead Germans, the exact number of bullets York had purportedly fired during the intense fight. However he downplayed his actions and was officially credited with killing only 20. As they cleared out the bodies York took time to pray over every single one of them, American and German alike. He was promoted to Sergeant and would continue fighting until November 1, only 10 days before the armistice was signed. In April 1919 York was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest honor a soldier can receive. He received similar honors from other allied countries, such as the French Croix de Guerre and the Italian Croce de Guera. General Pershing, the head of American forces during the war, even remarked that York was “the greatest civilian soldier” of the war. 

Sergeant York after receiving the Medal of Honor, you can see the medal on his right.

Life After Service 

After the war ended Alvin York returned to Tennessee where he lived and worked on a farm given to him by the state. On June 7, 1919 he married his sweetheart Gracie Williams, and they would go on to have eight children together. When he came back he largely kept his story a secret and was very humble about his accomplishments overseas. However, he could not avoid the publicity when the Saturday Evening Post, one of America’s largest newspapers with a readership of over 2 million, published his story calling him “the war’s biggest hero”. Not long after, other large newspapers such as the New York Times picked up the story and York was soon swamped with people wanting to turn it into a movie and others wanting him to endorse products for them. York refused all offers however, saying that he did not believe in capitalizing on one's service to his country. It is believed that in total all the offers amounted to $250,000 or over $3,678,000 in today's money. Due to this refusal he experienced financial troubles, but decided to focus on more “honest” work to fix them. In 1928 he did publish an autobiography titled Sergeant York, His Own Life Story and War Diary, but this did not alleviate all of his money issues. 

York and his wife Gracie on their wedding day.

Despite his financial woes York felt that his life goal was to bring education to his impoverished region and raised money to build a school for underprivileged youth. In 1926 the York Industrial Institute was built in Jamestown, Tennessee and classes began in 1929. It remained privately funded by York and supporters until 1937 when financial issues related to the Great Depression threatened to close the school. Fortunately York was able to convince the Tennessee state government to take over funding of the school and it still operates today as a living memorial, though it is now called the Alvin C. York Institute.

An old picture of the institute founded by York. Courtesy of Tennessee Virtual Archive.

Eventually York agreed to let a movie be made about him, being convinced that it was important to the national identity and would spurn patriotism in others. The movie Sergeant York starring Gary Cooper was released in 1941 and portrayed the sergeants heroic actions in the Argonne. York used the money made from the film to open a Bible school. 

Movie poster for the movie Sergeant York. Courtesy of Warner Bros.

When World War Two started York attempted to reenlist in the Army but was denied due to his age, he was 54 years old at that point. However they did gave him a non combat role and he traveled to training camps where he would speak to new soldiers going off to fight, he also held fundraisers to raise money for the war effort. 

In 1954 York suffered a major cerebral hemorrhage and was severely mentally impaired for the last 10 years of his life. On September 2, 1964 at the age of 76 Alvin C. York passed away in the veterans hospital in Nashville. Upon his death President Lyndon Johnson said he was “a symbol of American courage and sacrifice” who epitomized “the gallantry of American fighting men and their sacrifices on behalf of freedom.” He was laid to rest in his family plot at the Wolf River Cemetery in Pall Mall, Tennessee where he remains to this day. 

Sergeant York’s gravesite. Courtesy of Trip Advisor.

Today people can still visit the farm given to York. It is now the Sergeant Alvin C. York State Historic Park and is open year round, offering tours of his homestead and keeping his incredible story alive. 

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Personal Thoughts 

I’ve wanted to do an article on Sergeant York for some time now since he is one of my biggest role models, but I waited since he’s certainly not a forgotten character. Much like York, I had trouble with understanding war and the teachings of the Bible when I was younger, so I can certainly relate to him in that aspect. Any act of heroism, especially from World War One, interests me and York is definitely a hero. I just see him as a person to look up to. He was an honest, hard working, christian man, that’s someone that is always needed. 

Sources 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alvin-Cullum-York

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-soldier-alvin-york-displays-heroics-at-argonne

https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Alvin_York

https://time.com/5417006/alvin-york-anniversary/

https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0700339