Alvin York and his sons, Woodrow Wilson York and Alvin Jr.
Gallery of Alvin York
City Hall Park, New York, NY 10007, United States
Alvin York declared New York General John Pershing the greatest civilian soldier with Mayor Jimmy Walker of New York City on the steps of City Hall in New York.
Achievements
Membership
Awards
War Cross
The War Cross that Alvin York was awarded.
Order of Prince Danilo I
The Order of Prince Danilo I that Alvin York was awarded.
1914–1918 War Cross with Palm
The 1914–1918 War Cross with Palm that Alvin York was awarded.
Legion of Honour
The Legion of Honour that Alvin York was awarded.
World War II Victory Medal
The World War II Victory Medal that Alvin York was awarded.
American Campaign Medal
The American Campaign Medal that Alvin York was awarded.
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor that Alvin York was awarded.
World War I Victory Medal
The World War I Victory Medal that Alvin York was awarded.
Alvin York declared New York General John Pershing the greatest civilian soldier with Mayor Jimmy Walker of New York City on the steps of City Hall in New York.
(This is only one of the many tales of York's famed herois...)
This is only one of the many tales of York's famed heroism, which were heralded as some of the most impressive battle stories in the history of modern warfare. Sergeant York contains the legendary soldier's war diaries, which offer up-close snapshots of his fabled military career.
Alvin Cullum York, also known as Sergeant York, was an American soldier who was known as was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He also served as a project superintendent with the Civilian Conservation Corps and was a colonel with the 7th Regiment of the Tennessee State Guard from 1941 to 1947.
Background
Ethnicity:
Alvin York's family is mainly of English ancestry, with Scots-Irish ancestry as well.
Alvin Cullum York was born on December 13, 1887, in Fentress County, Tennessee, United States. He was the third of eleven children of Mary Elizabeth and William Uriah York.
Education
Alvin York and his brothers attended school for only nine months and withdrew from education in order to work on the family farm. He also went hunting and fishing to help get food for the family.
Career
Alvin York started his career as a workman and blacksmith after his father died in 1911. When the United States entered the First World War in 1917, Alvin York received a draft notice. His request for exemption as a conscientious objector was denied and he was drafted into the army in November 1917. He began his army service at 328th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Division, Camp Gordon in Georgia. However, he had no desire to go to war or kill. His commanding officers, Captain Edward Danforth and Major George Edward Buxton, worked hard to convince him that the war was a holy cause.
In September 1918, Alvin York became part of the successful Saint-Mihiel offensive after which he was elevated to the position of corporal. On October 8, 1918, he displayed exemplary courage during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. In the course of an attack, he single-handedly killed many German soldiers, destroyed their machine guns, and took numerous German soldiers as captives. After this, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. However, York was not happy about what he had done. Back in the United States, the heroic adventure of York captured the public imagination. He received numerous business offers for appearances, product endorsements, newspaper articles, and movie rights to his life story. However, he refused all owing to his religious faith.
In the 1920s, Alvin York laid the foundation of "Alvin C. York Foundation" with the objective of enhancing educational infrastructure in the region of Tennessee. In 1926, he founded the Alvin C. York Institute, a school for the young people in his home county of Fentress. To raise money for the school, he traveled around the country speaking about his experiences in the war. In 1928, he wrote and published his autobiography "Sergeant York: His Own Life Story and War Diary" which was edited by Tom Skeyhill. In 1935, he took up a job as a project superintendent with the Civilian Conservation Corps and supervised the construction of Byrd Lake in Cumberland Mountain State Park. He worked as the park's superintendent until 1940.
In 1941, he agreed for a film to be made on his life in order to finance an interdenominational Bible school. However, the movie aggravated his financial problems such as incompetent management of income and created tax issues with the Internal Revenue Service. It took ten years and public donation to finally settle his account. During World War II, he wanted to re-enlist in the army. However, due to health issues, he was commissioned as a major in the Army Signal Corps. In this role, he engaged in bond tours, recruitment drives, and camp inspections. He also served as a colonel with the 7th Regiment of the Tennessee State Guard from 1941 to 1947. In 1954, York had a stroke and never fully recovered. He died in 1964 of another stroke, at the Nashville Veterans' Hospital, surrounded by his family.
(This is only one of the many tales of York's famed herois...)
1928
Religion
Alvin York had never been much of a churchgoer, but his wife Gracie took him to her church, the Church of Christ in Christian Union. In 1914, he became an active member of the church. By 1917, York was second elder, a high office in the church, and his roughneck life was behind him for good. He had no desire to go to war or kill, because of his religious beliefs.
Politics
In the 1920s, Alvin York became interested in state and national politics. He used his celebrity to improve roads, employment, and education in his home county. In the 1930s, York considered running for the United States Senate against the freshman senator, Albert Gore Sr. In the 1932 election, he changed his party affiliation and supported Herbert Hoover over Franklin D. Roosevelt because Roosevelt promised to repeal Prohibition. Once the New Deal got underway, however, York returned to the Democratic Party.
In the late 1940s, York called for toughness in dealing with the Soviet Union and did not hesitate to recommend using the atomic bomb in a first strike.
It's also worth mentioning, that initially, York believed in the morality of America's intervention in World War I. However, in his later years, he criticized the country's intervention in the war and showed sympathy for isolationism.
Views
Quotations:
"We fought that last war to make the world safe for democracy, and we did – for a while. The thing they forget is that liberty and freedom and democracy are so very precious that you do not fight to win them once – and then stop. Liberty and freedom and democracy are prizes awarded only to those peoples who fight to win them, and then keep fighting eternally to hold them."
"God would never be cruel enough to create a cyclone as terrible as that Argonne battle. Only man would ever think of doing an awful thing like that."
"I had killed over twenty before the German major said he would make them give up. I covered him with my automatic and told him if he didn't make them stop firing I would take off his head next. And he knew I meant it."
"There were considerably over 100 prisoners now. It was a problem to get them back safely to our own lines. There were so many of them, there was danger of our own artillery mistaking us for a German counterattack and opening upon us."
"I noticed the bushes all around where I stood in my fight with the machine guns were all cut down. The bullets went over my head and on either side. But they never touched me."
Membership
Alvin York was a member of the American Legion.
Personality
In his early adulthood, Alvin York was prone to heavy drinking and violent behavior which got him in problems several times. However, when he became a Christian, he changed and became more calm and responsible. Those who knew Alvin York said that he was brave and honest.
Physical Characteristics:
Alvin York was plagued by health issues all throughout his life. He went through a gall bladder surgery, suffered from pneumonia, had weight issues, and suffered a stroke.
Quotes from others about the person
Major General Terry Haston: "Throughout his life, York was a man devoted to God, his country, his family, and making the world a better place for everyone."
Sam K. Cowan: "Caught by the enemy in the cove of a hill in the Forest of Argonne, he did not run; but sank into the bushes and single-handed fought a battalion of German machine gunners until he made them come down that hill to him with their hands in the air. There were one hundred and thirty-two of them left, and he marched them, prisoners, into the American line."
Connections
Alvin York married Gracie Williams in 1919. The marriage produced eight children - most of them were named after American historical figures.
Father:
William Uriah York
Mother:
Mary Elizabeth York
Spouse:
Gracie Williams
Brother:
George Alexander York
Brother:
Robert Daniel York
Brother:
Henry Singleton York
Brother:
James Preston York
Brother:
Albert York
Brother:
John Samuel York
Brother:
Joseph Marion York
Sister:
Lucy Ermine York Rains
Sister:
Lillie Mae York Stewart
Sister:
Hattie Mertillie York Wright
Son:
Andrew Jackson York
Son:
Woodrow Wilson York
Son:
George Edward Buxton York
Son:
Samuel Houston York
Son:
Thomas Jefferson York
Son:
Alvin Cullum York, Jr.
Daughter:
Mary Alice York Franklin
Daughter:
Betsy Ross York Lowery
References
Alvin York: A New Biography of the Hero of the Argonne
In Alvin York, Douglas V. Mastriano sorts fact from myth in the first full-length biography of York in decades. He meticulously examines York's youth in the hills of East Tennessee, his service in the Great War, and his return to a quiet civilian life dedicated to charity. By reviewing artifacts recovered from the battlefield using military terrain analysis, forensic study, and research in both German and American archives, Mastriano reconstructs the events of October 8 and corroborates the recorded accounts. On the eve of the WWI centennial, Alvin York promises to be a major contribution to twentieth-century military history.
2014
Sgt. York: His Life, Legend & Legacy: the Remarkable Untold Story of Sgt. Alvin C. York
In a world desperate for authentic heroes, the story of Alvin C. York reminds us of the true meaning of heroism. York's bravery on the battlefield made him famous, but it was his decision to turn down the easy riches of celebrity that secured his position as one of history's greatest Christian patriots. Based on new interviews with all of York's living children, and York's own diaries, this exhaustive biography follows the young soldier from the hills of Tennessee to the battlefields of France, down Broadway in a triumphant ticker-tape parade, and back home to his family farm where he spent the rest of his life in service to his community and his God.
1997
Sergeant York and His People
A simple country boy from the backwoods of Tennessee became the single greatest American hero of World War I, single-handedly capturing an entire battalion of German soldiers.