Speaker tells of war hero York's rise from humble beginnings

Based on decades of research, U.S. Army Col. Douglas Mastriano has determined most of the spectacular details of Sgt. Alvin York’s story from World War I are true.

Mastriano gave a presentation Tuesday at Southeast Missouri State University as part of the Crader Lecture Series detailing York’s life.

“He was told he could never amount to anything growing up in Pall Mall, Tennessee,” Mastriano said. “I hope to inspire a couple of Alvin Yorks out here.”

At the battle of the Argonne Forest in October 1918, York broke through a German defensive position with 16 other American soldiers. They captured about 70 German troops near a machine-gun nest, but nine of the American soldiers were killed or injured when the machine gun fired on the crowd.

York was one of eight remaining, able-bodied men, but his friend Murray Savage was one of the Americans killed.

Mastriano said York’s strong Christian beliefs, which at one time made him conscientiously object to being drafted, led him try to stop the bloodshed.

“I’ve got to stop this,” Mastriano said, echoing York’s thoughts. “I’ve got to stop the killing.”

York ran up the hill and killed a German machine-gun crew and several infantrymen — 19 Germans total.

Mastriano said York killed six more attacking Germans who were disoriented when they attacked. One of the weapons York used was a .45-caliber pistol.

One of the Germans injured in the attack was a friend of German commander, Lt. Paul Vollmer, who offered to surrender if York would stop shooting. York accepted.

When another 32 German soldiers massed for another attack, York held Vollmer hostage, and those Germans surrendered.

York and seven other American soldiers captured 132 German troops. York was later awarded the Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross.

Mastriano verified these events starting with archival research in 1994, an archaeological dig at the Argonne Forest battle site and research in German archives from 2002 through 2009. Mastriano said the York battle was the only one fought at that site going back to the Roman Empire.

Mastriano recovered 46 shell casings from a rifle and 24 shell casings from .45 caliber pistols, most of which he attributed to York. Mastriano also recovered a whistle thought to belong to Vollmer, which he used to signal the surrender, and several items from a German machine gunner, including dog tags.

Mastriano also used his expertise as a faculty member of U.S. Army War College to conduct battlefield archaeology and forensics.

The main message of Mastriano’s presentation, however, was heroism can come from ordinary places. York was the third child in a farming family of 11 children in rural Tennessee, close to the Kentucky border. He became a devout Christian in 1915.

But before that, he was known as a drunk, frequenting bars on the Tennessee-Kentucky border.

“He started working on his character muscle when he started trying to do the right thing,” Mastriano said. “In the end, you’ll build a lion in your heart. This is why trying to do the right thing matters.”

Mastriano implored the audience, many of whom were Southeast students, to not believe it when people say they will never amount to anything.

“We need modern Yorks in these times that try men and women’s souls,” Mastriano said.

bkleine@semissourian.com

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