York, Alvin Cullum

York, Alvin Cullum, 1887–1964, American soldier known as Sergeant York, b. Fentress co., Tenn. He was reared on a back-country farm in Tennessee. A conscientious objector at the beginning of World War I, he later agreed to fight and was credited with killing 25 German soldiers, capturing 132 others, and taking a hill in an engagement (Oct. 8, 1918) in the Argonne Forest. York received the highest decorations of the American and French governments and became a popular hero. He later founded a school in the Tennessee mountains.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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