TENNESSEE HERO ALVIN YORK BORN 140 YEARS AGO
Pall Mall, Tennessee (JFK+50) Alvin Cullum York was born 140 years ago, December 13, 1877, here in Pall Mall*. Alvin was the third child of William and Mary York.As a corporal in the United States Army, York led sixteen Americans in an attack on a German held position in the Argonne Forest near Cornay, France during WWI. Leaving his men to guard captured Germans, Alvin proceeded to kill 25 enemy soldiers with his rifle and pistol before forcing 132 more to surrender.
In his diary, Alvin York wrote...
"I don't think I missed a shot. It was no time to miss."
Corporal York, promoted to Sergeant, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and the French Croix de Guerre. When he arrived in New York City, York was given the key to the city and a ticker-tape parade.
*Pall Mall is located in Fentress County and the Wolf River Valley near the KY-TN border in north central Tennessee. AY's farmhouse and the York family grist mill are located here.
*Pall Mall is located in Fentress County and the Wolf River Valley near the KY-TN border in north central Tennessee. AY's farmhouse and the York family grist mill are located here.
York Grist Mill
Pall Mall, Tennessee
Photo by John White
Sergeant Alvin C. York Statue
State Capitol Grounds
Nashville, Tennessee
Photo by John White (2011)
