The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Sgt. Alvin C. York - Mar 1st, 2004

www.alvincyork.org ^ | Dr. Michael Birdwell

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
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FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

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Sgt. Alvin Cullum York
(1887 - 1964)

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Known as the greatest hero of World War I, York avoided profiting from his war record before 1939. Born December 13, 1887 in a two-room dogtrot log cabin in Pall Mall, Tennessee, and raised in a rural backwater in the northern section of Fentress County, York was a semi-skilled laborer when drafted in 1917. Quite literally having never traveled more than fifty miles from his home, York's war experience served as an epiphany awakening him to a more complex world.

Sgt. York Wearing Medal of Honor

The third oldest of a family of eleven children, the York family eked out a hardscrabble existence of subsistence farming supplemented by hunting, and York became a competent marksman at an early age. Living in a region that saw little need for education, York had a grand total of nine-months schooling at a subscription school he attended in his youth. York's father, William York (who died in 1911), also acted as a part time blacksmith to provide some extra income for the family. Prior to the advent of the World War, York was employed as a day laborer on the railroad near Harriman. As a result, York had little experience with managing money and later suffered from chronic fiscal problems. (York spent money when he had it, gave it away to other people who he believed needed it, and invested poorly).

As York came of age he earned a reputation as a deadly accurate shot and a hell raiser. Drinking and gambling in borderline bars known as "Blind Tigers," York was generally considered a nuisance and someone who "would never amount to anything." That reputation underwent a serious overhaul when York experienced a religious conversion in 1914. In that year two significant events occurred: his best friend, Everett Delk, was killed in a bar fight in Static, Kentucky; and he attended a revival conducted by H.H. Russell of the Church of Christ in Christian Union. Delk's senseless death convinced York that he needed to change his ways or suffer a fate similar to his fallen comrade, which prompted him to attend the prayer meeting.


The York family, 1900

A strict fundamentalist sect with a following limited to three states--Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee--the Church of Christ in Christian Union espoused a strict moral code which forbade drinking, dancing, movies, swimming, swearing, popular literature, and moral injunctions against violence and war. Though raised Methodist, York joined the Church of Christ in Christian Union and in the process convinced one of his best friends, Rosier Pile, to join as well. Blessed with a melodious singing voice, York became the song leader and a Sunday School teacher at the local church. Rosier Pile went on to become the church's pastor. The church also brought York in contact with the girl who would become his wife, Gracie Williams.

By most accounts, York's conversion was sincere and complete. He quit drinking, gambling, and fighting. When the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, York's new found faith would be tested. York received his draft notice from his friend, the postmaster and pastor, Rosier Pile, on June 5, 1917, just six months prior to his thirtieth birthday. Because of the Church of Christ in Christian Union's proscriptions against war, Pile encouraged York to seek conscientious objector status. York wrote on his draft card: "Dont [sic] want to fight." When his case came up for review it was denied at both the local and the state level because the Church of Christ in Christian Union was not recognized as a legitimate Christian sect.



Though a would-be conscientious objector, drafted at age thirty, York in many ways typified the underprivileged, undereducated conscript who traveled to France to "keep the world safe for democracy." With great reservations, York embarked for Camp Gordon, Georgia to receive his basic training. A member of Company G in the 328th Infantry attached to the 82nd Division (also known as the "All American Division) York established himself as a curiosity--an excellent marksman who had no stomach for war. After weeks of debate and counseling, York relented to his company commander, George Edward Buxton, that there are times when war is moral and ordained by God, and he agreed to fight.

York's role as hero went beyond his exploit in the Argonne and continues to both inspire and confound. On October 8, 1918, Corporal Alvin C. York and sixteen other soldiers under the command of Sergeant Bernard Early were dispatched before sunrise to take command of the Decauville railroad behind Hill 223 in the Chatel-Chehery sector of the Meuse-Argonne sector. The seventeen men, due to a misreading of their map (which was in French not English) mistakenly wound up behind enemy lines. A brief fire fight ensued which resulted in the confusion and the unexpected surrender of a superior German force to the seventeen soldiers. Once the Germans realized that the American contingent was limited, machine gunners on the hill overlooking the scene turned the gun away from the front and toward their own troops. After ordering the German soldiers to lie down, the machine gun opened fire resulting in the deaths of nine Americans, including York's best friend in the outfit, Murray Savage. Sergeant Early received seventeen bullet wounds and turned the command over to corporals Harry Parsons and William Cutting, who ordered York to silence the machine gun. York was successful and when all was said and done, nine men had captured 132 prisoners.



That York deserves credit for his heroism is without question. Unfortunately, however, his exploit has been blown out of proportion with some accounts claiming that he silenced thirty-five machine guns and captured 132 prisoners single-handedly. York never claimed that he acted alone, nor was he proud of what he did. Twenty-five Germans lay dead, and by his accounting, York was responsible for at least nine of the deaths. Only two of the seven survivors were acknowledged for their participation in the event; Sergeant Early and Corporal Cutting were finally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 1927.

York's war exploit typified that of the nineteenth century American hero. He appeared larger than life and was most often compared to three peculiarly American icons: Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, and Abraham Lincoln. Literally growing up in a quasi-frontier existence tucked away in a remote Tennessee backwater unscathed by industrialized America, York was born and raised in a log cabin near the Tennessee-Kentucky border--a region which bore no resemblance to the break-neck bustle of New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles--so York seemed to belong to another more idyllic time. As late as 1917, he hunted squirrel, raccoon, quail, wild boar and deer with a muzzle-loader. York's life caught fire in the American imagination not because of who he was, but what he symbolized: a humble, self-reliant, God-fearing, taciturn patriot who slowly moved to action only when sufficiently provoked and then adamantly refused to capitalize on his fame. Ironically, York also represented a rejection of mechanization and modernization through his dependence upon personal skill. George Patullo, the Saturday Evening Post reporter who broke the story, focused on the religio-patriotic nature of York's feat. He titled his piece The Second Elder Gives Battle, referring to York's status in his home congregation in Pall Mall, Tennessee.


Alvin York's "old gun" was a U.S. Model 1917 Enfield Rifle.
Mechanism Type: Turnbolt, fixed box-magazine
Caliber: .30-'06
Weight: 9.5 lbs.
Over-All Length: 46.3"
Magazine Capacity: 6 rounds

For his actions, York was singled out as the greatest individual soldier of the war and when he returned home in 1919 he was wooed by Hollywood, Broadway, and various advertisers who wanted his endorsement of their products. York turned his back on quick and certain fortune in 1919, and went home to Tennessee to resume peacetime life. Largely unknown to most Americans was the fact that Alvin York returned to America with a single vision. He wanted to provide a practical educational opportunity for the mountain boys and girls of Tennessee. Understanding that to prosper in the modern world an education was necessary, York sought to bring Fentress County into the twentieth century. Thousands of like-minded veterans returned from France with similar sentiments and as a result college enrollments shot up immediately after the war.

The war had introduced York to a mechanized industrial world and his prolonged exposure to it made him realize the important contributions industrialization could make for his friends and relatives at home. Literally a stranger in a strange land, York recognized that he was ill-equipped to fully understand or appreciate his foreign surroundings. Initially he immersed himself in the Bible, hoping that his simplistic religious faith would see him through, but by the war's end he longed for something more than just his faith.


With the Tennessee Society of New York in 1919 at the welcoming home ceremonies.

Yearning to return home and wed his sweetheart, York was taken aback by his New York City hero's welcome. He prevailed upon Tennessee Congressman and future Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, to facilitate a hasty return to his home. Once back in Tennessee further surprises awaited him. The Rotary Club of Nashville in conjunction with other Tennessee clubs wanted to present York with a home and a farm.

Unfortunately not enough money was raised and they gave him an unfinished home and saddled him with a healthy mortgage to boot. As late as 1922, the deed remained in the hands of the Nashville Rotary Club.

[Samwise]

Both before and after, I think. After for sure. Grandpa never mentioned it to me. My aunt told me after I was "all growed up." I asked Mom about it, and she shrugged me off like "Oh, yeah, that."

But according to my aunt, Grandpa would drag the kids over to visit him. And he would come over to visit grandpa. They lived across the Tennesee/Kentucky border from each other.

[snippy_about_it]

Tell us more, what do you know and when did you know it. :-)

[snippy_about_it]

oops, I posted before I saw your post to Sam.

[SAMWolf]

I saw it a looooooong time ago. Just remember parts of it. Should rent it just to see it again.

[Valin]

Don't get me started!

[SAMWolf]

I asked Mom about it, and she shrugged me off like "Oh, yeah, that."

Sounds like Mom wasn't impressed. ;-)

[Johnny Gage]

Air Power
Fokker Dr. I Dreidecker

The Fokker DR.I triplane was built after the Sopwith Triplane. While not as fast as contemporary biplanes, the Dreidecker could easily outclimb any opponent. Small, lightweight and highly maneuverable, it offered good upward visibility and lacked the traditional bracing wires that could be shot away during combat. This combination of features made it an outstanding plane in a dogfight. When the DR.I first entered service, antagonists scoffed until pilots like Werner Voss showed what it could do in a fight. Flying a prototype, Voss shot down 10 British aircraft in 6 days of aerial combat during September 1917. Unfortunately, the DR.I was not without problems. By the end of October 1917, it was temporarily withdrawn from service when several pilots, including Heinrich Gontermann, were killed as a result of wing failures. Despite structural improvements, the Fokker triplane's reputation among German airmen never recovered.

"It climbed like a monkey and maneuvered like the devil." - Manfred von Richthofen

Specifications:
Country of Origin: Germany (German Empire)
Primary Function: Single-Seat Fighter/Scout
Manufacturer: Fokker Flugzeug Werke G.m.b.H.
Crew: One
Powerplant:One Oberursel U.II 9-cylinder rotary piston engine with 110-hp

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 23 feet 7.5 inches
Length: 18 feet 11.25 inches
Height: 9 feet 8.25 inches
Wing Area: 201.29 square feet

Weights:
Empty Weight: 895-lbs
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 1,290-lbs

Performance:
Maximum Speed: 103-mph at 13,125 feet
Climb to 3,280-feet: 2 minutes 54 seconds
Service Ceiling: 20,000-feet
Endurance: 1 hour 30 minutes

Armament:
Two fixed forward-firing 7.92-mm (0.31-in) LMG 08/15 machine-guns

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All photos Copyright of: The Virtual Aviation Museum

[Samwise]

York's two kids married the two kids of the man who lived in my grandpa's attic. I'm not sure, but I think it was York's daughters.

I just asked my mom to clarify, and she told me to ask my uncle. He and his kids were good friends. "He can tell you all kinds of stories about York."

York's kitchen table is at a museum in Tennesee. I sat down at that table once and wondered if it was one my grandpa had eaten around. I bet it was.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Johnny

[SAMWolf]

York's kitchen table is at a museum in Tennesee. I sat down at that table once and wondered if it was one my grandpa had eaten around. I bet it was.

:-)

[Professional Engineer]

The Sopwith Triplane was used in combat by the Royal Naval Air Service. The stack of three wings reduced wingspan and increased wing area making it handle and climb better than biplanes. Visibility from the cockpit was outstanding but the "Tripe" was slower and less heavily armed than it's German opponents. The Germans were impressed with its performance and a captured Triplane inspired the development of the Fokker DR.I. The Triplane was eventually withdrawn from service and replaced with the Sopwith Camel.

www.theaerodrome.com

The triplane layout was adopted in order to give the pilot the widest possible field of vision, and to ensure maneuverability. Shown here is the prototype Triplane N.500 at Chingford.

www.aviation-history.com

[Samwise]

I found it in my notes. York's son and daughter married the son and daughter of the man who lived in grandpa's attic. I can't imagine living in that attic...shudder

[snippy_about_it]

Depends. Was it the old cabin attic or the new house they built for him when he got home?

[snippy_about_it]

This photograph, provided by the Andrew York family, shows the types of firearms used in the early 1920's and `30's. The fifth person from the right, in this photograph, is Alvin York.


The identities of the men in the picture is,front row Clay Conatser,Dr. J.P.Sloan,Toe Potter, and Hendricks Cravens. 2nd Row,Jr. Sodders,Albert Taylor,Webb Hatfield,Ike Hatfield,William Hatfield, Sgt. Alvin C. York,Albert York,and Gus Delk. The small boy is Ernest Criswell.**Also in the picture but unable to scan were John Sodders,Oliver Delk,and John Conatser**

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Snippy. Way different America back then wasn't it?

[Samwise]

I think my aunt was dragged to the new house. She's too young to have visited the old York house.

But the attic is my grandpa's. I've tried to sleep in it--I can't imagine renting it. Some man rented it. This man's kids married York's kids.

Now, you know everything I do, at least about York anyway. LOL

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for sharing all you know about Sgt. York. it adds to the story we posted today. :-)

[WhiskeyPapa]

Great story of Sergeant York.

Walt

[Darksheare]

I'm in for now.

[SAMWolf]

Morning WhiskeyPapa.