Sergeant Alvin York
Abstract
General Pershing called him "The greatest civilian Soldier" of World War I. Ferdinand Foch, the Allied Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies in France during World War I, described his exploit in the Argonne as "The greatest thing accomplished by any private Soldier of all the armies of Europe."(Bradt, Nat. American Heritage Magazine. New York: Brown Brothers, Aug./Sept. 1981). They were talking about SGT Alvin Cullum York who was born on December 13, 1887 in a two-room log cabin in the tiny Cumberland mountain village of Pall Mall, Tennessee. Alvin was the third of eight sons and three daughters born to William and Mary York. William York trained his sons on the ways of the forest; Alvin became a competent marksman at an early age. The rifle became a tool to supply the table with food. He became such a good shot that when neighbors got together for Saturday shooting matches, they often picked him to be a judge rather than compete against him.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 19, 2010
- Accession Number
- AD1137020
Entities
Organizations
- United States Army Sergeants Major Academy