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| Sergeant Alvin York |
Sergeant Alvin York of Tennessee served with the 82nd Division of the US Army and was one of most decorated soldiers in the army of World War I. His actions in the Argonne offensive was instrumental in taking 35 machine guns, killing at least 25 enemy soldiers and capturing 132 more.
York was born on December 13, 1887 in a two room dogtrot log cabin in Pall Mall, Tennessee. He came from a poor family and received minimal schooling. Though his father William worked as a part time blacksmith, his parents only had farming and at times hunting and fishing as a way to survive. His father's death in 1911 forced York to aid his mother in raising his younger siblings. He was a skilled worker, first on the railroad construction and later as a logger. Though York was devoted to his family's welfare, he was also a headache for her mother. A regular in bars, the young man was also prone to fistfights and accumulated several arrest within the area. The hell raiser made a complete turn around with his life in 1914, when his best friend, Everett Delk, was killed in a bar fight in Static, Kentucky. The incident prompted him to improve his life and attend a revival meeting and conversion to Church Of Christ In Christian Union where he would meet his future wife Gracie Williams.
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| Sergeant Alvin York and his bride Gracie Williams |
On June 5, 1917, at the age of 29, York’s faith was tested when he registered for the draft as required by the law. The teachings of The Church Of Christ In Christian Union is a total contradiction with his draft with the army. A strict fundamentalist that forbade violence and preached a strict moral code and forbade drinking, dancing and many forms of popular culture. Because of these reasons he asked for conscientious objector status and wrote “don't want to fight” on his draft card. The case was denied both at the local and state level because the Church Of Christ In Christian Union was not recognized as a legitimate Christian sect.
York was already 30 years old when he was drafted as a private by the US Army. He was assigned to G Company, 328th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Infantry Division posted at Camp Gordon, Georgia. While still waiting for deployment to Europe, York had lengthy conversations with his company commander, Captain Edward C.B. Danforth and his battalion commander, Major G. Edward Buxton relating to the biblical justification of war. After weeks of debate and counseling the two officers finally convinced York that there are times when war is moral and could be justified. After a ten day leave to visit his family, York came back to his unit with a firm belief that God meant for him to fight.
On October 8, 1918, York’s battalion, the 328th Infantry Regiment were tasked to capture and secure the Decauville railroad behind Hill 223 in the Chatel-Chehery sector of the Meuse-Argonne sector. With a little or no information on what is waiting ahead of them the whole battalion went straight into a German machine gun's nest concealed on the ridges. The initial barrage killed many American soldiers that halted their advance and forced the whole battalion to withdraw to safer grounds. 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”.
York, now a corporal together with his unit of 16 soldiers under the command of Sergeant Bernard Early were given orders to take the machine guns out. Taking advantage of the brush and hilly nature of the terrain the unit managed to slip their way through the back of the German lines that is directly opposite the American advance. The unit’s location brought confusion with the Germans that caused a brief firefight. Surprised and confused the Americans overran and captured a superior German force that was preparing for a counter-attack against the American advance. Gathering themselves and realizing what was going on with their comrades, the other Germans turned their machine guns towards the Americans and shouted orders to their fellow soldiers to lie down. York and his unit was caught off guarded in securing the prisoners, 6 Americans were killed instantly including Early with 3 wounded. The loss of 9 soldiers put York in charge of the 7 remaining US soldiers. With the remaining US soldiers taking cover while guarding the prisoners, York put his shooting skills in use. Shooting back and silencing the German machine guns and was able to move to a standing position while evading enemy bullets. 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... 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”.
During the assault, 6 German soldiers in a nearby trench charged at York with fixed bayonets. York had just fired the last round of his M1917 Enfield rifle and didn't have time to reload, so he drew his M1911 semi-automatic pistol and fired on them before they could reach him. German First Lieutenant Paul Jurgen Vollmer emptied his pistol trying to kill York while he was contending with the machine guns. Failing to injure York and seeing their mounting losses, the German officer offered in English to surrender the unit to York who accepted it. At the end of the engagement the unit killed at least 25 enemy soldiers, took 35 machine guns and captured 132 more.
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| Sergeant Alvin York monument |
York was promptly promoted to sergeant and received the Distinguished Service Cross. A few months later the award was upgraded to Medal Of Honor. He attempted to re-enlist during the outbreak of World War II, however at 54 years old with weight and health issues, he was denied as a combat soldier. Sergeant Alvin York died on September 2, 1964 and was buried at Wolf River Cemetery in Pall Mall.
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