Unraveling the Myth of Sgt. Alvin York

[rob63]

I stumbled across this and figured there would be others that would be interested in it.

Archeology and documentation that has surfaced prove that the famous story of Sgt. Alvin York capturing 132 Germans single-handedly is a myth. The real story is that there were actually 16 other men with him, firing their weapons and helping him to capture the Germans. Also, it was actually a different sergeant that took over leadership of the attack after the officer originally leading the attack was wounded. The other men involved were denied recognition by two officers that wanted to create a big hero story to enhance their own reputations in the hope of avoiding post-war Army cut-backs. It is likely that they chose York to be the sole hero because the others were recent immigrants and his status as a conscientious objector made for a better story.

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[MrSmitty]

But....Gary Cooper played him in a movie....

 

[VostocK]

But....Gary Cooper played him in a movie....

That was a great movie (Sergeant York 1941). If anyone has not seen it, I would highly recommend it.

 

[tomcat13]

You mean Officers in our Military Fabricated a story for their Own Enrichment?
The More things Change, the More they Stay the Same.
It was a Good Movie!

 

[El Conquistador]

Sgt. York's homestead is close to where I was born and a lot of my family still lives (Jamestown Tn). His house is open for tours, one day I was traveling through and decided to stop in. There was a guy working there that said he would answer any questions I had on the self guided tour. While looking at some of the old photos there was one photo of the actors the played in the movie and some of Sgt. York's family, one of people in the group photo was the guy that worked there. I asked him if that was him in the photo and he said it was that he was Sgt. York's son. He said the state of Tennessee took over the house and land and made it a state park, they gave him a job as a tour guide of the place. He was a very nice guy, pleasant to talk to and answered any questions I had about his dad.

 

[Tactically Fat]

One of his grandsons ( great grandsons?) lives near Arlington & Southport. ;-)

 

[Cameramonkey]

Often certain people are chosen based on optics.

Rosa Parks wasnt the first to protest. The first was another young black woman 9 months earlier. Claudette Coleman. But they didnt want to use her as the face of the protest. She was only a teenager, and was single and pregnant by the time they decided to push the issue. Also, they thought she didnt have the right look to garner sympathy from enough people. So Rosa became the face of the protest.

 

[wcd]

Sgt. York's homestead is close to where I was born and a lot of my family still lives (Jamestown Tn). His house is open for tours, one day I was traveling through and decided to stop in. There was a guy working there that said he would answer any questions I had on the self guided tour. While looking at some of the old photos there was one photo of the actors the played in the movie and some of Sgt. York's family, one of people in the group photo was the guy that worked there. I asked him if that was him in the photo and he said it was that he was Sgt. York's son. He said the state of Tennessee took over the house and land and made it a state park, they gave him a job as a tour guide of the place. He was a very nice guy, pleasant to talk to and answered any questions I had about his dad.

Pall Malls only claim to fame I would expect.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Like using the photo from the SECOND raising of an American flag on Mt Suribachi...


Still, he did a good job that day, and I'm damn proud of him. Nicely done Sgt.

 

[Mgderf]

Another great movie, and simultaneously a seriously messed up human story was,
"The Great Santini".
Supposedly a true story, and I'm sure the underlying storyline had some truth to it, but damn, that was one messed up Marine.

 

[rob63]

Like using the photo from the SECOND raising of an American flag on Mt Suribachi...


Still, he did a good job that day, and I'm damn proud of him. Nicely done Sgt.

I disagree on this point. Nobody involved ever lied about the flag raising photo, the confusion is based upon assumptions.

Sgt. York, on the other hand, lied consistently and often about what happened. He did, indeed, do a good job on that day and certainly deserved a medal as much as everyone else involved.

His actions after that day, on the other hand, are not so commendable.

When I first started watching the presentation in the video I really didn't want to believe it, but the archaeological evidence of the shell casings that supported the stories of the other men involved, the six identical affidavits with fake signatures in the MOH investigation, that the men who supposedly signed the affidavits all claimed after the war that they didn't sign them and said the story wasn't what happened, and the fact that the Army did eventually issue a DSC to the other Sergeant involved that York claimed didn't do anything in his version. The evidence of fraud just becomes overwhelming.

Sgt. York's involvement in the fraud is understandable in the beginning. He was, after all, an enlisted man being told to go along with it by his superior officers. Once it snowballed, I am sure it became very, very difficult for him to come clean. However, I just can't countenance him continuing to deny any credit at all to the other men that were clearly involved in the action that day, something that he continued to do long after they were out of the service.

The saddest thing to me is that the true story of 17 men attacking a hill covered by machine-guns, taking the hill, and capturing 132 enemy soldiers in the process was lost in the desire to create an even bigger story.

 

[cosermann]

I’m not too quick to give such things credence, especially when they have a subversive aspect (i.e. attacking/weakening our culture, heros, etc.), and no one is left alive to dispute it.

 

[rob63]

I’m not too quick to give such things credence, especially when they have a subversive aspect (i.e. attacking/weakening our culture, heros, etc.), and no one is left alive to dispute it.

I'm curious, what is your explanation for Sgt. York claiming that he was the only one involved that fired his weapon and, yet, the archaeologist that examined the site finding .30-06 shell casings fired from multiple weapons in multiple locations, as well as finding bullets in the German position fired from a S&W 1917 revolver even though York was armed with a Colt M1911?

How do you explain the Army eventually awarding a DSC to the other Sergeant for leading the attack even though York claimed he was wounded in the initial volley and removed on a stretcher without having done anything else? A Sergeant, who coincidentally, was the only man there armed with a S&W 1917 revolver.

 

[DragonGunner]

If we only knew the truth of so much. Like this famous picture that made a photographer and his family rich. A godly Christian man and his Bible praying. Picture in many homes around the world. It’s a dictionary and the old man is a drunk off the streets literally posing. Photographer saw him and set up a table. When he started to get rich he went and found the drunk and offered him $5 to sign a full release. The drunk took the $5 and continued living in the streets. The photographer and his descendants keep raking in the $$$$ off of it.

 

[Slade]

Pall Malls only claim to fame I would expect.

If you drive through Pall Mall you will want to stop in at Forbus General Store. I stop in for a fried bologna sandwich At least once a year.

 

[wcd]

If you drive through Pall Mall you will want to stop in at Forbus General Store. I stop in for a fried bologna sandwich At least once a year.

Work takes me through there every so often. Have to say While it sounds interesting, I never could get past the texture of bologna.

interesting enough they have a replica of a trench on his homestead.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

I'm curious, what is your explanation for Sgt. York claiming that he was the only one involved that fired his weapon and, yet, the archaeologist that examined the site finding .30-06 shell casings fired from multiple weapons in multiple locations, as well as finding bullets in the German position fired from a S&W 1917 revolver even though York was armed with a Colt M1911?

How do you explain the Army eventually awarding a DSC to the other Sergeant for leading the attack even though York claimed he was wounded in the initial volley and removed on a stretcher without having done anything else? A Sergeant, who coincidentally, was the only man there armed with a S&W 1917 revolver.

As far as any archaeologist that examining the site, and finding any shell casings... from any weapon... from either side goes...
Remember this was a long contested war, and it didn't end on that day either. The battle lines changed hands often.
God only knows when any empty casings were left, and by who.
As far as the Army fudging on records, well I was in for 28 years, so yeah, that does tend to happen. Especially by officers, who like politicians, are looking for career enhancement chances. Weather it did here or not, who the hell knows.

 

[Libertarian01]

I think it really hurts us when someone we believed to be good and decent turns out to be far less so. To be honest I was reluctant to watch the video as I had seen Gary Cooper's version many times.

However, we are all best served by the truth. According to all accounts and evidence presented a story closer to the truth comes from this author and not the previously held mythology of Sgt York.

Many Congressional Medals of Honor were later taken back from Civil War soldiers after the war. It turns out the Union Army was desperate to create hero's. I used to have a book on this. One soldier was awarded the CMH for stepping out of the words and capturing a confederate officer who was alone on a ride. The soldier had his long arm pointed at the officer and the officer was caught off guard without a weapon in hand. CMH, later withdrawn. But at the time the Union Army wanted hero's, so it made them, deserving or not.

The same thing kindof happened with the movie "Hidalgo." It turns out to have been a complete work of fiction, yet Disney still refuses to acknowledge that it is a story made up by one man's fictional story of himself.

We like to believe in hero's. It's also very hard to accept that we have been duped.

In my mind then Corporal York deserves credit for his actions taken along with others in battle. He later deserves contempt for contributing to a lie that denied others from receiving the proper credit that they earned with blood and courage.

Regards,

Doug

 

[Hkindiana]

“At this point, what difference does it make”

 

[rob63]

As far as any archaeologist that examining the site, and finding any shell casings... from any weapon... from either side goes...
Remember this was a long contested war, and it didn't end on that day either. The battle lines changed hands often.
God only knows when any empty casings were left, and by who.
As far as the Army fudging on records, well I was in for 28 years, so yeah, that does tend to happen. Especially by officers, who like politicians, are looking for career enhancement chances. Weather it did here or not, who the hell knows.

There were other items found, besides the shell casings, that positively link the archeology to Company G, 328th Infantry.
It's all in the video.

The archeology is only a fraction of the evidence detailing the fraud that Sgt. York was complicit in. The video is an hour long, and he covers a lot of material.