York, Alvin C

York, Alvin C(ullum)

(born Dec. 13, 1887, Pall Mall, Tenn., U.S.—died Sept. 2, 1964, Nashville, Tenn.) U.S. World War I hero. He worked as a blacksmith and was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1917 after being denied conscientious-objector status. In the Meuse-Argonne offensive (October 1918), his patrol of 17 men was ordered to attack a German machine-gun nest. Pinned down behind enemy lines, he advanced alone to attack the enemy gunners, killing 25 and forcing the others to surrender. As he marched them back to U.S. lines, he captured more German soldiers for a total of 132 prisoners. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor, and his autobiography (1928) was the basis of the movie Sergeant York (1941).