Reader:

This story reminds me of one of my favorite childhood movies. Sergeant York. While Hollywood embellished, it was portrayed very nicely by Gary Cooper.

Alvin Cullum York was born in a two-room log cabin near Pall Mall, Tennessee.[2] He was the third of eleven children born to William Uriah York (15 May 1863 – 17 November 1911) and Mary Elizabeth (Brooks) York (1866-1943).[3][4] William Uriah York was born in Jamestown, Tennessee, to Uriah York and Eliza Jane Livingston, both travelers from Buncombe County, North Carolina.[5] Mary Elizabeth York was born in Pall Mall to William Brooks and Nancy Pile, and was the great-granddaughter of Conrad "Coonrod" Pile, an English settler who settled Pall Mall. William York and Mary Brooks married on December 25, 1881, and had eleven children. The York children were, in order: Henry Singleton, Joseph Marion, Alvin Cullum, Samuel John, Albert, Hattie, George Alexander, James Preston, Lillian Mae, Robert Daniel, and Lucy Erma.[5] The York family is mainly of English ancestry, with Scots-Irish ancestry as well.[6][7] The York family resided in the Indian Creek area of Fentress County.[5] The family was impoverished, with William York working as a blacksmith to supplement the family's income. The men of the York family harvested their own food, while the mother made all of the family's clothing.[5] The York sons attended school for only nine months[2] and withdrew from education because William York wanted his sons to help him work the family farm and hunt small game to feed the family.[5]
Claim of Appeal for conscientious objector status by Alvin York.

When William York died in November 1911, his son Alvin helped his mother raise his younger siblings.[5] Alvin was the oldest sibling still residing in the county, since his two older brothers had married and relocated. To supplement the family's income, York first worked in Harriman, Tennessee,[2] first in railroad construction and then as a logger. By all accounts, he was a very skilled worker who was devoted to the welfare of his family. York was also a violent alcoholic prone to fighting in saloons and accumulated several arrests within the area.[2] His mother, a member of a pacifist Protestant denomination, tried to persuade York to change his ways.[citation needed]

Despite his history of drinking and fighting, York attended church regularly and often led the hymn singing. A revival meeting at the end of 1914 led him to a conversion experience on January 1, 1915. His congregation was the Church of Christ in Christian Union, a Protestant denomination that shunned secular politics and disputes between Christian denominations.[8] This church had no specific doctrine of pacifism but it had been formed in reaction to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South's support of slavery, including armed conflict during the American Civil War, and it opposed all forms of violence.[9] In a lecture later in life, he reported his reaction to the outbreak of World War I: "I was worried clean through. I didn't want to go and kill. I believed in my Bible."[10] On June 5, 1917, at the age of 29, Alvin York registered for the draft as all men between 21 and 31 years of age were required to do on that day. When he registered for the draft, he answered the question "Do you claim exemption from draft (specify grounds)?" by writing "Yes. Don't Want To Fight."[11] When his initial claim for conscientious objector status was denied, he appealed.[12]

In World War I, conscientious objector status did not exempt one from military duty. Such individuals could still be drafted and were given assignments that did not conflict with their anti-war principles. In November 1917, while York's application was considered, he was drafted and began his army service at Camp Gordon in Georgia.[13]

From the day he registered for the draft until he returned from the war on May 29, 1919, York kept a diary of his activities. In his diary, York wrote that he refused to sign documents provided by his pastor seeking a discharge from the Army on religious grounds and he refused to sign similar documents provided by his mother asserting a claim of exemption as the sole support of his mother and siblings.

more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_York

Awards Medal of Honor ribbon.svg Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross ribbon.svg Distinguished Service Cross (Initially awarded. Later upgraded to Medal of Honor.)
Legion Honneur Chevalier ribbon.svg Legion of Honour
Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 ribbon.svg Croix de guerre (Palm)
Croce di guerra al merito BAR.svg War Merit Cross
ME Order of Danilo I Member BAR.svg Order of Prince Danilo I

Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), known also by his rank, Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated soldiers of the United States Army in World War I.[1] He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, taking 35 machine guns, killing at least 28 German soldiers, and capturing 132 others. This action occurred during the United States-led portion of the broader Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France to breach the Hindenburg line and make the opposing German forces surrender.