Even today, I want you all to know, with all the clamor of the world and its evil attractions, you still find in the little humble log cabins in the Tennessee mountains that old-fashioned family altar of prayer—the same that they used to have in grandma's and grandpa's day—which is the true spirit of the long hunters. Louis Zamperini was released after the war ended two years later. Combat medic of the United States Army during World War II who distinguished himself during the Battle of Okinawa. York became a relatively rare high-profile public voice for intervention.
Alvin York was born on December 13, 1887 (age 132 years) in Pall Mall, Tennessee, United States. In an October 8, 1918, attack that occurred during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, York's battalion aimed to capture German positions near Hill 223 (49°17′08″N 4°57′09″E / 49.28558°N 4.95242°E / 49.28558; 4.95242) along the Decauville railroad north of Chatel-Chéhéry, France. Upon his return to the United States, he began his career as a Christian evangelist. His mid night ride to Lexington on April 18, 1775 has been immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, ˜Paul Revere's Ride'. [98][99][100], Among the Mastriano expedition's finds were 46 American rifle rounds at or around the position York claimed to have fired from, and 23 .45 ACP rounds fired from a Colt 1911 handgun, which were located where York claimed to have repelled a German bayonet charge of six soldiers with his pistol. Alvin C. York's Diary: November 17, 1917", "Sgt. Failing to injure York, and seeing his mounting losses, he offered in English to surrender the unit to York, who accepted. I'm trying to forget the war in the interest of the mountain boys and girls that I grew up among. by writing "Yes. [44] In the second half of 1930s and early 1940s, in the run-up to the America's entry in World War II, York was a forceful and public advocate for interventionism, calling for U.S. involvement in the war against Germany, Italy and Japan. [66][67] It received 11 Oscar nominations and won two, including the Academy Award for Best Actor for Cooper. My name is Kevin York, my Grandfather was Jim York, one of Alvins 8 brothers. With a preface by Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War in World War I, it presented a one-dimensional York supplemented with tales of life in the Tennessee mountains. [4] The York sons attended school for only nine months[3] and withdrew from education because William York needed them to help work on the family farm, hunt, and fish to help feed the family. After a series of lawsuits he gained control of the original institution and was its president when it opened in December 1929. "[40] He fought first to win financial support from the state and county, then battled local leaders about the school's location. [110], Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Penn Warren used York as the model for characters in two of his novels, both explorations of the burden of fame faced by battlefield heroes in peacetime. [13][15] He served with his division in the St. Mihiel Offensive. As the Great Depression deepened, the state government failed to provide promised funds, and York mortgaged his farm to fund bus transportation for students. In At Heaven's Gate (1943), a Tennessee mountaineer who was awarded the Medal of Honor in World War I returns from combat, becomes a state legislator, and then a bank president. [113], In 1993, York was among 35 Medal of Honor recipients whose portraits were painted and biographies included in a boxed set of "Congressional Medal of Honor Trading Cards," issued by Eclipse Enterprises under license from the Medal of Honor Society. Biblical passages about violence ("He that hath no sword, let him sell his cloak and buy one." Instead, he lent his name to various charitable and civic causes.

"Render unto Caesar ..." "... if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight.")

[1] He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, taking at least one machine gun, killing at least 25[2] enemy soldiers and capturing 132. He also raised funds for war-related charities, including the Red Cross. Fullerton Laboratory for Spatial Technology at Middle Tennessee State University, had earlier placed the site 500 meters south of the location identified by Mastriano. SYDE honors York, soldiers and preserves a piece of history", "Tennessee Valley Healthcare System – Alvin C. York (Murfreesboro) Campus", United States Department of Veterans Affairs, "York Institute: Student Handbook 2007–2008", "Jeff Alexander's House of Checklists: Congressional Medal of Honor, Eclipse, 1993", "The Pentagram: U.S. He never asked for a dime for the many movies and stories that focused on his life. He served on his county draft board and , when literacy requirements forced the rejection of large numbers of Fentress County men, he offered to lead a battalion of illiterates himself, saying they were "crack shots". He died on September 2, 1964, Nashville, TN. He grew up with ten siblings, making him one of the eleven total children born to his father William York and to his mother Mary Brooks. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. [13], From the day he registered for the draft until he returned from the war on May 29, 1919, York kept a diary of his activities. [118], The traveling American football trophy between UT Martin, Austin Peay, Tennessee State, and Tennessee Tech is called the Alvin C. York trophy. When William York, Alvin's father, died, Alvin had to watch over for his mother and younger siblings, because all his elder brothers had left Pall Mall and had gotten married. His actions that day earned him the Medal of Honor. York's speeches attracted the attention of President Roosevelt, who frequently quoted York, particularly a passage from York's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Speech: By our victory in the last war, we won a lease on liberty, not a deed to it. In attempting to explain his actions during the 1919 investigation that resulted in the Medal of Honor, York told General Lindsey "A higher power than man guided and watched over me and told me what to do." [49] Although York served during the war as a Signal Corps major[46][48] and as a colonel with the 7th Regiment of the Tennessee State Guard,[50] newspapers continued to refer to him as "Sergeant York".[51].

I was sharp shooting... All the time I kept yelling at them to come down. Early, Corp. William S. Cutting (aka Otis B. Merrithew), and Pvt. Soldier and statesman during the American Revolutionary War who became known for his criticism of slavery. He was in a plane that crashed into the Pacific Ocean and though he survived the crash, he was taken prisoner of war by the Japanese army. He had eight children: Alvin, George, Sam, Woodrow, Mary, Thomas, Besty and Andrew. "Alvin Cullum York was born on December 13, 1887, in Pall Mall Tennessee. 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. [61] In 1941 the movie Sergeant York, directed by Howard Hawks with Gary Cooper in the title role, told about his life and Medal of Honor action. York site turns into modern media battle", "York trail-work begins! York only attended school until the third grade, after which he dropped out of the education system to aid his father in the blacksmith shop owned by his family. His parents farmed, and his father worked as a blacksmith. One of America's greatest real-life legends, Crockett is, even today, one of the most enduring symbols of the Old West.