Medal of Honor Recipient Alvin York

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May 22, 2025

Medal of Honor Recipient Alvin York

By Kurt Allemeier

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World War 1 hero Alvin York is known for his exploits in the Meuse-Argonne offensive and the capture of more than 130 Germans depicted in the film “Sergeant York,” but the Tennessean had a role in World War 2, as well.

York, a one-time conscientious objector and Medal of Honor recipient, returned from France to much acclaim, speaking engagements and appearances. Having a soap box to speak from, he used it in the 1930s when he saw trouble brewing in the Pacific. Following the fall of Nanking to the Japanese in 1937, York was attending the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco and was asked about China. His response was a folksy warning.

“I think we ought to be careful about all that scrap metal we keep sending to Japan, because it might just come back at us in a different form,” he said.

A statue of Sgt. Alvin York and his Springfield Model 1903 rifle is located on the grounds of the Tennessee statehouse.

As war crept closer, York preached preparation for war in the Pacific. Though he didn’t see Europe as a tinderbox, during production of “Sgt. York,” he met movie makers Jesse Lasky and Harry Warner who were Jewish and prompted him to take greater interest in war in Europe as well.

He became a spokesman for an interventionist organization that directly countered the America First Committee, pitting two American heroes – York and Charles Lindberg – against each other, and York was not one to pull punches, speaking at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day, 1941 with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in attendance.

“Our victory in the last war, we won a lease on liberty, not a deed to it,” he said. “Now after 23 years, Adolf Hitler tells us that lease is expiring.”

Sgt. Alvin York after returning from France and World War 1 with his Medal of Honor and Croix de guerre given to him by France.

York received numerous angry letters from isolationists who supported Lindberg, but newsman Walter Winchell summed up the two sides in favor of York and intervention.

“Sergeant York, America's No. 1 hero, is for all out help to England. Lindbergh, whether he realizes it or not, is for all out aid to Hitler. York was decorated with a medal by the American government; Lindbergh by the Nazi. Lindbergh says he is for America first. Sergeant York says it a lot more convincingly when he offers his life once again in the cause of Liberty,” Winchell said.

When FDR started the first peace time draft in U.S. history, York was appointed to the Fentress County (Tenn.) draft board. He also served on the Tennessee Preparedness Committee that flagged key industries in the state that could be converted to wartime production. When the film “Sgt. York was released July 2, 1941 it brought star Gary Cooper an Academy Award and it expanded York’s platform to support interventionism.

When World War 2 started, York, once a tall, red-headed sharpshooter, but now in his 50s, overweight and verging on diabetic, wrote the Tennessee governor to resign his positions in order to enlist in the Army. The governor refused to accept the resignation and the Army declined his re-enlistment. The Army did realize his value and made him an honorary colonel in the Signal Corps where he served as a civilian liaison.

Serving as Signal Corps morale officer, York traveled coast to coast, visiting every stateside training camp and traveling as an ambassador for the War Department alongside luminaries of the time like poet Carl Sandberg, actress Greer Garson and military and political leaders.

As chairman of the Fentress County (Tenn.) draft board, Alvin York shows a young man how to handle a rifle.

Alvin York before World War 1

One of 11 children, York had a hardscrabble youth, drinking, fighting and carousing before his father died in 1911 and he had a religious conversion, taking to heart the commandment “Thou shall not kill.” He was drafted in 1917 and sought an exemption because of his religious beliefs but he was denied twice.

During training he showed to be an outstanding marksman with the Springfield 1903 rifle. In the film, York is shown wetting the sights, saying “It cuts the haze a might.” He shipped out for France on May 1, 1918 and fought well, getting promoted to corporal.

The M1917 Enfield was the main rifle used by the American Expeditionary Forces, but Alvin York acquired a Springfield 1903 like the one that showed his marksmanship skills in basic training and used in what he described “like shooting turkeys” as he took out several machine gun nests. The M1903, like the one seen here, would be replaced by the M1 Garand in 1936.

Sgt. York Is a Hero – But Not the Only One

On Oct. 8, 1918, York’s company was ordered to advance on a railroad close to the front but was pinned down. York’s platoon of 17 soldiers was ordered to flank the machine gun when it encountered a number of Germans eating breakfast and captured them. A nearby German machine gun emplacement spotted the Americans and started firing, killing or wounding 10 of the men.

Using his Springfield, likely traded for the Enfield that his unit was issued, York started picking off Germans from back to front until they realized he was the lone shooter. The Germans charged but York shot them with his M1911 and the Germans surrendered. In the film he used captured Lugers instead of a M1911. Marching back to the American line, York and the remaining members of his patrol captured more Germans, eventually bringing 132 prisoners with them, including three officers.

For decades after receiving the Medal of Honor, questions arose about whether York acted alone in capturing all of the soldiers as was portrayed in the Oscar-winning film. Two other survivors from the unit disputed the official version of York’s medal-winning actions and three soldiers from the unit eventually received medals for their valor that day.

Actor Gary Cooper earned an Academy Award for his portrayal of Alvin York in the 1941 film, "Sergeant York."

York after the World Wars

York suffered health issues after the war, including a series of strokes in 1949. He was confined to a wheelchair in 1954. In 1960, the American Legion gave York a circular pushbutton bed to help him move around. His Springfield rifle hung over his bed until his death in 1964 at the age of 76.

President Lyndon Johnson said upon York’s death, “Sgt. Alvin Cullum York has stood as a symbol of American courage and sacrifice for almost half a century. His valor above and beyond the call of duty, in World War I, was recognized with the nation's highest award, the Medal of Honor. As the citizen‐soldier hero of the American Expeditionary Forces, he epitomized the gallantry of American fighting men and their sacrifices in behalf of freedom.”

Marshal Ferdinand Foch who commanded the Allied Forces during World War 1 called York’s actions in Argonne campaign as “the greatest thing accomplished by any private soldier of all the armies of Europe.”

Gen. John J. Pershing who led the American Expeditionary Force called the sergeant from the hills of Tennessee as “the greatest civilian soldier of the war.”

Alvin York was commemorated for his heroism and humble beginnings when he returned from World War 1. He received the honorary rank of colonel by the Tennessee governor.