Posted
on October 8, 2013
Today
is the commemoration of a heroic deed during World War I.
Alvin
C. York had been born in a two-room cabin in Tennessee, back in 1887.
He didn't want to fight in the war because of his strong religious
views, but he was drafted into the army anyway. He discussed with his
commanders how conflicted he felt between his religion's pacifist
stance and his training in the army. Eventually he decided that, in
this war at least, he should fight and even kill...if he had to.
And,
sadly, he had to.
On
this date in 1918, the battalion that York belonged was sent to
capture a German position along a railway in France. However, the
Germans were safely tucked into a “machine gun nest” on the hill
and were killing American soldiers right and left. So a small group
of soldiers, including York, were sent to work their way behind
German lines and take out those machine guns.
At
first the small expedition was a success, and the American soldiers
captured a large group of German soldiers. Then came the
counter-attack; the German machine guns peppered the area, killing
and injuring nine of the U.S. soldiers.
Suddenly, York was the highest ranking soldier still active...so he was
now in charge of the other seven remaining troops.
The
seven guarded the prisoners while York took on the German soldiers
manning the machine guns. All by himself.
Apparently,
York was an excellent shot. He took a sniper position and shot 17 of
the 30 or so German gunners. Finally the Germans realized that they
were facing just one man, so six or seven (accounts differ) German
soldiers rushed at York with their bayonets. They may have realized
that York was out of rifle ammunition.
But
York had a pistol, and he drew that and was able to kill all 6 – 7
German soldiers before they reached him!
The
German commander facing York emptied his own pistol trying to kill
the American sharp-shooter, but he didn't even injure York. So he
called out in English and surrendered. York and the seven U.S.
soldiers he led were able to march out 132 German prisoners and 32
German machine guns.
As
heroic as this story is, of course, it is also completely tragic that
so many young men—the Germans as well as the Americans—died “for
their country.” York never wanted to kill—even when he felt he
had to. He wrote that, all the while that he was proving his
excellent marksmanship:
“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.”
 |
| A lot of things, such as buildings, roads, and a state historic park, are named after Alvin C. York |
York
got a lot of fame, the Medal of Honor, and some offers of fortune for
his amazing feat. He turned down the offers of money for appearances,
newspaper articles, and movie rights to his life story. He turned
down cash for appearing in advertisements. Instead, he leant his name
to charitable causes and campaigned successfully to get a road built
to the region of Tennessee where he was born.
(York did accept the
gift of a farm, but he ended up losing a lot of money when people
reneged on their promises at the same time that there was a farming
depression.)
 |
| Gary Cooper won an Oscar for playing the part of Sergeant York. |
York cooperated with journalists, publishers, and
eventually even Hollywood to bring his story to America, but it seems
that most or all of his earnings went to charities and schools.
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Cathy, just a note to thank you on your blog about Sergeant Alvin York. I just read it. I have read about Sergeant York and learned about him in school (that was #$@&! years ago!), so I knew something about him. Your blog brought out a few things even I did not know.
ReplyDeleteI have seen the movie, of course. Although Hollywood took some artistic license (when does Hollywood not?!?), the movie was generally accurate.
These days, when you ask school kids who Sergeant York was, they look at you incredulously and retort, "Sergeant Who?" Others think he was the inventor of the York Peppermint Patty. It is sad to realize that most of today's students don't have even a simple grasp of American history, because many of our schools just don't teach it anymore. I was lucky to have gone to a private school in my youth, where I believe I received a decent education. It was there I learned a lot about American and world history, and Colorado history, the state in which I grew up. (History became one of my favorite subjects in school.)
So thank you, Cathy! I know this "Thank You" is a bit belated. Thank you for writing this and for preserving a small piece of American history.