Alvin Cullum York, also known as Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated U.S. Army soldiers of World War I. 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 enemy soldiers and capturing 132. York’s feat made him a national hero and international celebrity among allied nations. A 1941 film about his World War II exploits, Sergeant York,. was that year’s highest-grossing film; Gary Cooper won the Academy Award for Best Actor.
About Alvin York in brief
Alvin Cullum York, also known as Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated U.S. Army soldiers of World War I. 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 enemy soldiers and capturing 132. York’s feat made him a national hero and international celebrity among allied nations. He later formed a charitable foundation to improve educational opportunities for children in rural Tennessee. In his later years, York was confined to bed by health problems. He died in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1964 and was buried at Wolf River Cemetery in his hometown of Pall Mall, Tennessee. He was the third child born to William Uriah York and Mary Elizabeth York. The family is mainly of English ancestry, with Scots-Irish ancestry, as well as well as well being of Scottish and English descent. He married Mary Brooks, an English settler who settled Pall Mall in 1881, and had eleven children. He took his mother’s maiden name as an alias of William H. Harrington after deserting from Company A of the 11th Michigan Cavalry Regiment during the American Civil War, Nancy Pyle was the great-granddaughter of Conrad \”Coonrod\” Pyle. The York family was impoverished, with all of the men of the family working as a blacksmith to supplement the family’s income. After Armistice Day, a group of Tennessee businessmen purchased a farm for York, his new wife, and their growing family. After the death of his father, York assisted in caring for his younger siblings and found work as ablacksmith.
He also worked as a project superintendent for the Civilian Conservation Corps and managed construction of the Byrd Lake reservoir at Cumberland Mountain State Park, after which he served for several years as park superintendent. York was a regular churchgoer, but he also drank heavily and was prone to fistfights. After a 1914 conversion experience, he vowed to improve and became even more devoted to the Church of Christ in Christian Union. He initially claimed conscientious objector status on the grounds that his religious denomination forbade violence. He joined the 82nd Division as an infantry private and went to France in 1918. He earned decorations from several allied countries during WWI, including France, Italy and Montenegro. In October 1918, as a newly-promoted corporal, he was assigned to infiltrate German lines and silence a machine gun position. York and his men marched back to their unit’s command post with more than 130 prisoners. A 1941 film about his World War II exploits, Sergeant York,. was that year’s highest-grossing film; Gary Cooper won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of York, and the film was credited with enhancing American morale as the US mobilized for action in World War Two. The film, starring Gary Cooper, was released in October 1941, and was released the same month as the release of The Godfather: Part II.
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This page is based on the article Alvin York published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 08, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
