Alvin York
Alvin Cullum York was born on December 13, 1887, in a two-room log cabin in Pall Mall, Tennessee. He was the third of eleven children in a family that relied on farming and hunting for sustenance. As a result, young Alvin became an adept marksman.
Alvin's early adulthood was tumultuous. He was a troublemaker who drank and brawled and lost money. But a profound religious conversion in 1914, inspired by his mother, changed his life. Alvin joined the Church of Christ in Christian Union, a pacifist denomination, and became deeply involved in church activities, striving to live a life of peace and righteousness.
But as Alvin changed his life, the Great War engulfed the world. In 1917, America joined the conflict. Because of his age and sex, Alvin was required to sign up for the draft, which left him facing a moral dilemma because of his pacifist beliefs. Alvin sought conscientious objector status. On the application, he answered the question, "Do you claim exemption from draft?" with, "Yes. Don't Want To Fight."
His rejection, however, was denied, and Alvin began military service, where he continued to struggle with being a soldier. Eventually, he reconciled his duties to country and faith, deciding that fighting in the war could serve a greater good.
Assigned to Company G, 328th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Division, Alvin's defining moment as a soldier came on October 8, 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France. His unit was tasked with a mission, but because they were using maps in French, they found themselves behind enemy lines and soon under intense enemy fire. Alvin's superiors were killed or wounded, along with others in the Regiment. Alvin took charge, leading a small group in defense, where his sharpshooting skills came to the fore. The group survived, killing some of the enemy and taking others as prisoners of war.
In depicting both the tragedy and heroism of war, Alvin wrote in reflecting back,
"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."
Alvin's heroism earned him the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States, and became a national hero for being a symbol of courage and determination.
Returning home in 1919, Alvin married and sought to use his fame to benefit his community. Rejecting lucrative offers for commercial endorsements, Alvin focused on education and public service. He founded the Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute in Jamestown, Tennessee, to provide quality education to rural children.
Decades later, as World War II created another vast conflict, Alvin stood up for what he believed to be the morally correct perspective. Even before America joined the war, Alvin gave a speech at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in which he said, "By our victory in the last war, we won a lease on liberty, not a deed to it. Now after 23 years, Adolf Hitler tells us that lease is expiring, and after the manner of all leases, we have the privilege of renewing it, or letting it go by default."
Too old and dealing with health issues prevented Alvin from serving as a combat soldier once America entered the war. He was instead made a major in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, where he continued advocating for the national war effort and supported bond drives.
After the war and into his later years, Alvin continued to champion rural education, although his health declined due to strokes and other ailments. He passed away on September 2, 1964.
Sources:
"Alvin York." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_York
Bain News Service, Publisher. Sgt. Alvin C. York. [Between and Ca. 1920] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2014709286/>.
Eley, Anthony. "Alvin C. York." National Museum United States Army, https://www.thenmusa.org/biographies/alvin-c-york/
 Sergeant York Patriotic Foundation: "Sgt. Alvin C. York's Diary: October 8, 1918" Archived November 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, accessed August 6, 2024
York, Gerald E. "Alvin York." American Legion, https://www.legion.org/belovedveterans/220476/alvin-york