1887–1964
Alvin Cullum York was an American soldier who became one of the most decorated veterans of World War I. On October 8, 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Corporal York led an attack on a German machine gun nest near Châtel-Chéhéry in the Argonne Forest. Armed with a rifle and pistol, he killed 25 German soldiers and captured 132 prisoners with the help of his small detachment of seven men.
York’s extraordinary action took place in the same area where Margaret Sheldon was serving with the Salvation Army. Her October 1918 diary entry describes the fighting around Château-Chéhéry (an alternate spelling), and she witnessed the aftermath of the intense combat in which York distinguished himself. York served with the 328th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Division — one of the units operating in the sector where Margaret’s hut was located.
Born in Pall Mall, Tennessee, York was a deeply religious man who had initially sought conscientious objector status. His faith and his military heroism became intertwined in the public imagination, making him perhaps the most famous American soldier of the war. He was promoted to Sergeant and awarded the Medal of Honor.
York’s story was later dramatized in the 1941 film Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper, which won two Academy Awards. The battlefield site near Châtel-Chéhéry is now preserved as a historical landmark.
Diary of a World War I Donut Girl 