Alvin York was an American was hero, who became very famous during the fighting in the Meuse-Argonne area. He was born in Tennessee in December of 1887. His family farmed and was poor. Alvin was the third child of eleven.Before the war, Alvin was an alcoholic and fought in saloons quite often. He also gambled. His mother tried to help him and persuade him to quit fighting, but he didn’t change. One night after a lot of heavy drinking, Alvin and his friend got into a fight, and his friend was killed. That event swayed Alvin to finally change his ways. He quit drinking and became a pacifist. He was a member of a Christian church, and it discouraged war.
On June 5, 1917, when he was 20 years old, he received a notice for the draft. He enlisted in the Army. Alvin York was a conscientious objector, who was a person who opposes war on moral ground, saying that the Bible says, “Thou shall not kill.” He ultimately decided that fighting was morally okay if the cause was worth it. He was trained in Georgia at Camp Gordon.During the war, Alvin and sixteen others were dispatched to take control of a railroad, but misread the map and ended up behind enemy lines. German soldiers were confused, and they ended up surrendering after a machine gun open fired. York’s job was to silence the machine gun, which he did successfully. York’s best friend was killed that day. Other American soldiers died that day, as well. It ended up that nine American soldiers captured 132 prisoners.What York did that day was very brave, and people started saying that he silenced 35 machine guns and captured 132 prisoners by himself. He never said he did it alone, and he wasn’t proud of what he did. He said that he was accountable for nine American soldiers’ deaths and 25 German soldiers’ deaths.York was known as the greatest soldier of World War I, and returned back to the states in 1919. He was compared to Daniel Boone, Abraham Lincoln, and Davy Crocket. He was known more as the common person. He came back to America with the idea of providing a good education for Tennessee boys and girls. Alvin spoke to people about getting a good education for these boys and girls, and he used his fame to improve roads and other things.
A movie was made about Alvin’s life. The church viewed movies as sinful, so it was hard to convince York to make the movie. He eventually decided the money made from the movie would be used for a Bible school.Alvin York was a great man, who overcame a lot in his life. He tried to become a better person, and succeeded, with help from his mother and God. He was a great soldier, and was very humble about his successes. He received the Medal of Honor, which was well deserved. When, he returned from war, he tried to do things that helped others and would make other people’s lives better. He was a good man who did a lot of great things in his life.-Sarah Konz
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