Lessons from Sgt. York

Tennessee native Alvin York earned the Medal of Honor for heroic action on the Western Front, just before World War I ended on Nov. 11, 1918. We celebrate that day as Veterans Day and pacifist-turned-hero Alvin York is a reminder of not just the heroism of our veterans, but also the truth that they often to continue to serve our nation in other ways upon leaving the military.

“The Germans got us, and they got us right smart. … The machine guns were spitting fire and cutting us down….” recalled York, then a corporal. York’s platoon of Americans was ordered out of the trenches in the early morning hours of Oct. 8. Faced with artillery and machine gun fire from just 30 yards away, York alone survived the race across an open field, recalling, “You never heard such a clatter and racket in all your life.”

At this point, a German lieutenant and seven soldiers confronted York. Miraculously, he was unharmed after shooting all eight Germans. He then called on Germans on the hillside to give up. “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.”

They surrendered. The official citation reads, “Practically unassisted, he captured 132 Germans (three of whom were officers), took about thirty-five machine guns, and killed no less than twenty-five of the enemy, later found by others on the scene of York’s extraordinary exploit.”

Alvin C. York was an unlikely hero. Raised in the backwoods of Tennessee, he was one of 11 children in a family that just barely got by. As a teen and a young man, York was active in church but was also given to drunkenness and fighting. He was 28 years old when America entered World War I. York was convinced that his Christian faith rooted in the Church of Christ tradition forbade him to fight in war.

He applied for conscientious objector status but was denied. While at boot camp he had a series of conversations with two of his commanding officers. This back and forth, rooted in key Biblical passages about justice and responsibility and examples such as Joshua, David, and the Roman centurion, forced York to prayerfully grapple with the issues. He ultimately felt a peace about going to war. He later reflected, “I knew I had to go to France … trusting in God and asking Him to keep me, although I had many trials and much hardship and temptation, but then the Lord would bless me and I almost felt sure of coming back home, for the Lord was with me.”

Alvin York’s expert marksmanship, honed by hunting to feed his family, saved his life and those of countless others. Perhaps the mixture of his maturity and his deepening faith prepared him to face death on Oct. 8, 1918. His love of neighbor, even his German enemy-neighbor, compelled him to try to save lives whenever possible, even in the midst of the battle.

But York’s story does not end there. Upon returning to the United States, he was feted as a hero and received many contract offers to turn his story into a book or film. After returning home he adamantly refused to participate in such efforts, arguing that it was not right to make a profit on his experiences.

However, York changed his mind. As recorded at the Sergeant York Patriotic Foundation, by 1927 he realized that the financial offers could be turned to a good cause: educating the poor of Appalachia. He gave a series of lectures and raised the funds for what would become the York Industrial Institute. As World War II approached he said, “Our hands are on the plow and we dare not, cannot turn back from our determination to rid the world of the Hitler menace. Life, not death; liberty, not enslavement; the pursuit of happiness, not the pursuit of sorrow and misery, will keep democracy fighting until victory is assured.” He accepted a contract from Warner Bros. to advise on a movie about his life, starring Gary Cooper. A large portion of the money was spent on a Bible college in Pall Mall, Tenn.

York remained a humble Christian citizen seeking to do good for his fellow man for the remainder of his life. He was the most famous enlisted man of his generation and could have used his daring feats to become wealthy and influential. Instead, like so many of America’s veterans, he shunned the limelight and sought opportunities to serve. This Veterans Day, may the legacy of Alvin York remind us to thank so many who served in the past, and continue serving today.