Alvin C. York

Sergeant Alvin York

Alvin Cullum York (* 13. December 1887 in Pall Mall , Tennessee ; † 2. September 1964 in the "Veterans Hospital" in Nashville , Tennessee) was one of the highest decorated soldiers of the US Army in the First World War . He was awarded the Medal of Honor and several other medals for leading an attack during the Meuse-Argonne offensive in France on a German machine gun nest.

Life

Alvin Cullum York was born on a farmhouse near Pall Mall in Tennessee . He was the third of eleven children of Mary Elizabeth Brooks and William Uriah York.

Original of the objection to its convocation

York became strictly religious in 1914 as a member of the Protestant Church of Christ in Christian Union , which led him to initially object to his conscription to military service on June 5, 1917. The reason he gave was that as a devout Christian he could not kill. Already at the screening he had to the question: "Is there for you the reasons why you believe this invitation to be able to not comply?" Answer: " Yes. Don't want to fight. ”(German:“ Yes, I don't want to fight. ”) After his reasons were not recognized, he appealed. This contradiction was rejected because it was believed that during the war one could not do without people.

The grave of Alvin York and Gracie Williams York

Back from the war, York set up the Alvin C. York Foundation with the aim of improving the educational situation in this part of Tennessee. Members of the committee were Cordell Hull , later Secretary of State under Franklin D. Roosevelt , Treasury Secretary William G. McAdoo , and Governor of Tennessee Albert H. Roberts . The Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute emerged from this.

During the Second World War , York attempted to be re-enlisted in the army, but this was rejected because of his poor health. Instead, he was made an honorary colonel in the Army Signal Corps . Afterwards he was traveling for propaganda purposes, where he mainly attended training camps and paid his travel expenses himself. York was also a colonel in the Tennessee State Guard's 7th Regiment . (Even so, the press continued to dub him Sgt. York .)

York had health problems throughout his life and eventually died of a cerebral haemorrhage . General Matthew Ridgway attended his funeral as President Lyndon B. Johnson 's representative. His grave is in the Wolf River Cemetery in Pall Mall.

First World War

In November 1917 York was drafted and initially stationed at Camp Gordon in Georgia . Here he came to the "Company G" of the "328th Infantry Regiment" ( 82nd Infantry Division ). Because of his persistent remorse, he had long discussions with his company commander and battalion commander about his moral concerns. Both advised him to reconsider this and after a ten-day home vacation, York returns convinced that God has allowed him to fight and would take care of him (“ ... that God meant for him to fight and would keep him safe ... ”) ) .

The combat area of ​​the 328th Infantry Regiment.

On October 7, 1918, in the Argonne near Chatel-Chéhéry, under the command of a sergeant, a raid troop of 18 men was assembled to penetrate the German lines and eliminate the machine guns lying in front of the American front. The Americans crossed the German trench and dug a command post, where Germans were already beginning to rally to counterattack. However, they and their prisoners were caught in the crossfire of machine guns, killing six Americans and wounding three, including the shock troop leader. Corporal York now had to take command as the remaining senior. The men stayed in cover with their prisoners while York tried to silence the machine guns. He had already used up the ammunition for his rifle.

While carrying out this project, he came across a section of the trench from which six German soldiers penetrated him with bayonets attached. He managed to shoot all six down with his Colt M1911 pistol . While York made the machine gun nest incapacitated, the commander of the 1st battalion “Landwehr Infantry Regiment No. 120”, Lieutenant Paul Jürgen Vollmer, shot York several times with his pistol without hitting him. Vollmer then offered York the surrender of his unit in English, which the latter accepted. York and his seven men then withdrew to the American lines with 132 prisoners in tow. This action enabled the "328th Infantry Regiment" to attack this section of the front again and to take away the Decauville railway line. Allegedly, the following dialogue ensued later between York and his Brigadier General Julian Robert Lindsey: "Well York, I heard you captured the entire German army." York: "No, sir, there were only 132" ( No sir. I got only 132. ).

York was promoted to sergeant on his return to his own lines and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross . After further investigation into the matter, he was awarded the Medal of Honor a few months later by the Commanding General of the American Expeditionary Forces , General John J. Pershing . France awarded him the Croix de guerre and the Legion of Honor . From Italy he was awarded the Military Cross and Montenegro war medal. York was decorated with around 50 awards in total.

Return and beginning hero worship

York in the post-war period

York's heroic deed remained unknown in the United States until April 26, 1919, when journalist George Patullo published the article "The Second Elder Gives Battle" in the Saturday Evening Post . Patullo told the story of York, a little educated man "who apparently got everything right through pure intuition ". As a result, the "Tennessee Society", a group of Tennessee citizens living in New York , held various ceremonies to welcome York returning to the United States. After his arrival in Hoboken on May 22, 1919, this included accommodation in the Waldorf-Astoria with a subsequent banquet in his honor, a five-day trip to New York City and Washington, DC , and a subway car specially reserved for him . In Washington, DC he was invited by Congress and received with standing ovations. Since President Woodrow Wilson was in Paris , he was received on behalf of Secretary of Defense Baker and Secretary to President Joseph Patrick Tumulty.

York then went to Fort Oglethorpe , Georgia , where he was discharged from military service.

On June 7, 1919 York married Gracie Loretta Williams (* February 7, 1900, † September 27, 1984) in Pall Mall. The wedding ceremony was performed personally by the Governor of Tennessee Albert H. Roberts . This was followed by another medal, which was awarded to him by the State of Tennessee in Nashville .

York declined to make money from his name and turned down numerous promotional offers. Instead, he lent his name to various charitable projects. He also campaigned for the construction of an expressway to his home region and economic support for it. After the expressway was built, it was named "Alvin C. York Highway". The Nashville Rotary Club made a public appeal for donations to give York a 400 acres (1.6 km²) farm. (It was the only material gift he accepted.) However, the farm was inoperable due to a lack of machinery, so York had to borrow money to buy what was necessary. The Depression that followed the end of the war did not stop at York, especially since the Rotary Club had bought the farm in installments and made no further payments. York had to pay the installments themselves and got increasingly into financial difficulties, which ended in a public appeal for help. Only the nationwide appeal to the Rotary clubs and a donation account with the New York World newspaper brought in enough money for York to be financially rehabilitated at Christmas 1921.

Political opinions

York, although close to the Democratic Party, was extremely conservative and what would be called a hardliner today. He made no secret of his view that it was a mistake not to use the atomic bomb in a nuclear first strike against the Russians. He also considered it a mistake not to have used nuclear weapons in the Korean War . That grew into the saying:

"If they can't find anyone else to push the button, I will."

"If you can't find someone else to push the button, I'll do it."

Later search for the location of the raid in the Argonne

The exact location of the raid could not be pinpointed later. In October 2006, US Army Colonel Douglas Mastriano, head of the Sergeant York Discovery Expedition (SYDE), found projectiles at the point in France believed to be the one where York earned his Medal of Honor a .45 caliber pistol, which he suspects may have come from the York pistol. Dr. Tom Nolan, head of the "Sergeant York Project" and geographer at the "RO Fullerton Laboratory for Spatial Technology" at Middle Tennessee State University , suspects the deliberate site, however, 500 meters further south than that discovered by Mastriano. The actual location has not yet been found. However, a memorial has already been erected at the place where the pistol bullets were found.

Filming and miscellaneous

York had refused several times to have his life story filmed. It was not until 1940, when he was looking for funding for an international Bible school, that he contacted Hollywood film producer Jesse L. Lasky and gave permission to film his life and the events of the 1941 Medal of Honor in Sergeant York . York was played by Gary Cooper , who received an Oscar for best actor for it.

The band Sabaton dedicated the song "82nd All the way" to York and the incident with the 132 prisoners. It was released on the album "The Great War" in 2019. The piece was covered by the band Amaranthe shortly afterwards in 2020 .

Honors and medals

Military honors

Medal of Honor

Strap buckle of the "Medal of Honor"

Belt buckle of the "Distinguished Service Cross"

Buckle of the "World War I Victory Medal (United States)"

Strap buckle of the "World War II Victory Medal (United States)"

Strap buckle of the " Légion d'Honneur "

Ribbon buckle of the " Croix de guerre " with palm tree

Strap buckle of the "Croce di Guerra al Merito"

Buckle of the "Montenegrin War Medal"

Other honors

The following were named after Alvin C. York:

• The Alvin C. York Veterans Hospital in Murfreesboro , Tennessee.
• The Alvin C. York Institute founded by York in 1926 as a private agricultural college in Fentress County. (During the Depression of 1937, this school became known as Jamestown's high school.)
• " York Avenue " on the Upper East Side of Manhattan , New York City has been named after him since 1928.
• The riderless horse carried on the funeral procession at President Ronald Reagan's funeral was named after Sergeant York.
• The cinema in Fort Bragg (garrison of the 82nd Airborne Division ) is named after him.
• The American Football touring trophy between the Austin Peay , UT Martin , Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech is called the "Alvin C. York Trophy".
• A statue of York created by the sculptor Felix de Weldon has stood on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol since 1968 .
• The Army ROTC Program gives an award to its cadets named after York.
• A memorial at the " East Tennessee State University " in memory of its graduates who fell for the fatherland bears a quote from York.
• The "3rd Regiment of the Tennessee State Guard" is named after York.
• The Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Penn Warren took York a model for characters in two of his novels At Heaven's Gate (1943) and The Cave (1959).
• On May 5, 2000, the US Mail issued a series of commemorative stamps from Merited Soldiers, which also included York.
• The US Army named an anti-aircraft gun tank , the M247 Sergeant York , after him.
• The Tennessee State Highway 127 is called "Alvin C. York Highway"
• Laura Cantrell 's song "Old Downtown" refers to York.
• His home was turned into a hero memorial, the “Sgt. Alvin C. York Historic Park ”.

literature

• Tom Skeyhill (Ed.): Sergeant York: His Own Life Story and War Diary . Doubleday, Doran, NY 1928.
• Birdwell, Michael E .: Celluloid Soldiers: The Warner Bros. Campaign against Nazism . New York University Press, New York 1999.
• Capozzola, Christopher: Uncle Sam Wants You: World War I and the Making of the Modern American Citizen . Oxford University Press, New York 2008.
• Lee, David D .: Sergeant York: An American Hero . University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 1985.
• Perry, John: Sgt. York: His Life, Legend & Legacy . B&H Books, 1997.
• Toplin, Robert Brent: History by Hollywood: The Use and Abuse of the American Past . University of Illinois Press, Chicago 1996.
• Wheeler, Richard (editor): Sergeant York and the Great War . Mantle Ministries, Bulverde, Texas 1998.
• Williams, Gladys: Alvin C. York . York Institute. Archived from the original on March 26, 2005. Retrieved August 31, 2010.

Web links

Commons : Alvin York  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• German account of the events around Sergeant York
• Literature by and about Alvin C. York in the WorldCat bibliographic database
• Alvin Cullom York in the Tennessee Encyclopedia
• Bruce Watson: An American Hero: Sargent York . In: American Heritage . 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
• Mastriano's Sergeant York Discovery Expedition and historic trail .
• Sergeant York Patriotic Foundation . Retrieved February 17, 2019.
• World War I Draft Cards: Alvin York . In: Records of the Selective Service System (World War I) . US National Archives. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
• York, Alvin C .: The Diary of Alvin York . Retrieved August 31, 2010.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ron Owens, Medal of Honor: Historical Facts and Figures , Turner Publishing, Paducah KY 2004, pp. 97-98.
2. ↑ Legends and Traditions of the Great War: Sergeant Alvin York by Dr. Michael Birdwell, Ph.D.
3. ↑ Capozzola, 2008, p. 68, includes a photograph of York's Registration Card from the National Archives
4. ^ Lee, 1985, 18-20
5. ↑ Sgt. Alvin C. York's Diary: October 8, 1918 . Sergeant York Patriotic Foundation, accessed February 17, 2019 . 
6. ↑ http://acacia.pair.com/Acacia.Vignettes/The.Diary.of.Alvin.York.html
7. ↑ Lee, 1985, 53-5
8. ↑ Lee, 1985, 64, 71-4, quote 73; Hero York Harassed, Can't Make Farm Pay . New York Times. July 21, 1921. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
9. ^ Lee, 1985, 125
10. ↑ Craig S. Smith: Proof offered by Sergeant York's war exploits . In: The New York Times , October 26, 2006. Retrieved June 16, 2010. 
11. ^ Sergeant York Discovery Expedition: site , accessed June 13, 2010
12. ^ Sergeant York Project
13. ↑ James B. Legg: Finding Sgt. York. (PDF; 7.9 MB) University of South Carolina, accessed February 17, 2019 . 
14. ↑ Texas State University: Thomas J. Nolan: Battlefield Landscapes: Geographic Information Science as a Method of Integrating History and Archeology for Battlefield Interpretation. Journal of Conflict Archeology, Volume 5, 2009, pp. 81-104.
15. ↑ Dr. Tom Nolan: Search for Sgt. York site turns into modern media battle . In: The Record (Middle Tennessee State University) , Nov. 17, 2008. 
16. ^ Army Media Center: The Sergeant York Historic Trail . 2010. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
17. ↑ Nolan, Tom; Kelly, M .: The Sergeant York Project . 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
18. ^ Tennessee Valley Healthcare System - Alvin C. York (Murfreesboro) Campus . United States Department of Veterans Affairs . Retrieved February 17, 2019.
19. ↑ York Institute Student Handbook 2005-2006. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 26, 2007 ; accessed on February 17, 2019 . 
20. ↑ Michael Pollak: The Great Race - “A Tennesseean Honored” . In: New York Times , August 7, 2005. Retrieved October 23, 2007. 
21. ↑ Dave Kindred: A proud performer after all . In: The Sporting News . June 21, 2004. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
22. ^ Ft Bragg - York Theater . Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
23. ^ Scott, Marlon: The New Sergeant York Trophy Series . In: The All State . October 23, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
24. ↑ Robert Ewing Corlew, Stanley John Folmsbee, and Enoch L. Mitchell, Tennessee: A Short History , 2nd ed (Knoxville, TN University of Tennessee Press, 1981). 442
25. ↑ Cadet Ribbons. (PDF; 389 kB) (No longer available online.) University of Texas, archived from the original on October 20, 2012 ; accessed on February 17, 2019 : "Awarded to the cadet who does the most to support the ROTC program." 
26. ↑ Waymarking.com: “ETSU Army ROTC 50th Anniversary - Johnson City,” accessed August 29, 2010
27. ^ Tennessee State Guard, Third Regiment: "Mission," accessed September 20, 2010
28. ↑ Lee, 1985, 130-2; Maxwell Geismar: The Pattern of Dry Red in Dixie . In: New York Times , August 22, 1943. Retrieved September 12, 2010  .; Orville Prescott: Books of The Times . In: New York Times , August 24, 1959. Retrieved September 12, 2010. 
29. ↑ Distinguished Soldiers . In: America's 2000 Stamp Program . United States Postal Service . Archived from the original on December 1, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
30. ↑ Laura Cantrell Biography. (No longer available online.) Matador Records, June 21, 2005, archived from the original on November 15, 2007 ; accessed on February 17, 2019 . 
31. ^ Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park in Tennessee . Retrieved February 17, 2019.