Medal of Honor: Alvin Cullum York, World War I, October 8, 1918
In the misty hills of the Argonne, a Tennessee marksman armed with faith and a rifle charged into history—capturing 132 Germans and silencing the guns that had slaughtered his platoon.
October 8, 2025
Name: Alvin Cullum York
Rank: Corporal
War: World War I
Date of Action: October 8, 1918
Unit: Company G, 328th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Division
Entered Service At: Pall Mall, Tennessee
Born: December 13, 1887, Fentress County, Tennessee
Summary of Action
The morning of October 8, 1918, near Chatel-Chéhéry, France, found Corporal Alvin York and his platoon pinned under ferocious German machine-gun fire in the tangled ravines of the Argonne Forest. Three noncommissioned officers had already fallen, leaving York—once a reluctant draftee and pacifist—as the highest-ranking man still standing. With only seven men at his side, he crawled forward through mud and gunfire toward the ridge bristling with machine guns.
Using his Kentucky-honed marksmanship, York picked off gunners one by one, his Springfield rifle methodically breaking the line. When a group of Germans charged him with bayonets, he drew his Colt .45 and shot them down with calm precision. The stunned enemy began to surrender in droves. By the time it was over, York and his handful of men had captured 132 German soldiers, 4 officers, and multiple machine guns—turning the tide of battle for his regiment and opening the way through the Argonne.
York’s courage and skill, born of mountain grit and deep conviction, made him a symbol of quiet American heroism. When asked later how he had done it, he simply said, “It was not man power but God’s power.”
Medal of Honor Citation
YORK, ALVIN C.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company G, 328th Infantry, 82d Division. Place and date: Near Chatel-Chéhéry, France, 8 October 1918. Entered service at: Pall Mall, Tenn. Born: 13 December 1887, Fentress County, Tenn. G.O. No.: 59, W.D., 1919. Citation: After his platoon had suffered heavy casualties and 3 other noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Cpl. York assumed command. Fearlessly leading 7 men, he charged with great daring a machinegun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machinegun nest was taken, together with 4 officers and 128 men and several guns.
