born: Dec. 13, 1887
died: Sept. 2, 1964
Allies
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born: Dec. 13, 1887 died: Sept. 2, 1964 Allies
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Involvement in the War:
Alvin C. York was drafted into the United States Army in 1917. York impressed the regular army officers with his ability to use a gun. Shot accurately at ranges of 200, 300, and 500 yards, but he struggled with the moral issue of killing human beings and refused to shoot at human silhouettes (targets). At the battle of the Argonne Forest in the fall of 1918, as a member of the 82nd division, he killed 25 Germans, knocked out 35 machine guns, and captured 132 prisoners almost single-handedly. York recieved the French Medaille Militaire and Croix de Guerre, the Italian Groce de Guerra, and the American Medal of Honor. Alvin York came home to the adulation of the American people and married his sweetheart, Gracie Williams. He died in Nashville,Tennessee, after having a cerebral hemorrage.
Quotes:
"Sir, I am doing wrong. Practicing to kill people is against my religion."