Alvin York: The Greatest American Hero
The greatest American hero of World War I and maybe of the world was Alvin York. Through courage, determination, and God’s power he was able to save almost his whole battalion against heavy machine-gun fire singlehanded. A man from a small town who was against shooting humans and killing them became the greatest American hero of all time. His legacy and his impact still lives on today by people who have and will treat him with reverence until the end of time.
Alvin Cullum York was born in Pall Mall, Tennessee on December 13, 1887. He was third of eleven children, who all grew up poor with almost no education, York only got a second-grade education. His father was a blacksmith and his mother would work at other places to wash, spin, weave, or any odd job that her neighbors asked her. Most everyone in Pall Mall knew how to use a rifle, including York and all his brothers. It is said of him, “He has never been whipped or knocked off his feet in his life and the reputation in the mountains of being one of the deadliest shots…” When York was a teen, his father died of typhoid fever in 1911, leaving behind his wife and eleven children. That was a particularly hard time for York, he became known for being wild. …show more content…
During his lifetime, he raised money for a high school, the Alvin C. York Technical Institute and a Bible school. His elementary school is named in his honor, the state highway 127 is name York Highway, York’s church is named York Chapel, many statues are of him, and a Sergeant York Tank is named after him, which ironically, could not hit anything it shot at, and many more. Even the hill where he captured the Germans is how named York’s Hill in his honor. He certainly is a man worthy of all his honor, not just because he captured over a hundred and thirty Germans, but because he is humble enough to try to forget the people that he has killed. He “went through the war with a clean heart, clean hands, and clean
Alvin Cullum York was born in Pall Mall, Tennessee on December 13, 1887. He was third of eleven children, who all grew up poor with almost no education, York only got a second-grade education. His father was a blacksmith and his mother would work at other places to wash, spin, weave, or any odd job that her neighbors asked her. Most everyone in Pall Mall knew how to use a rifle, including York and all his brothers. It is said of him, “He has never been whipped or knocked off his feet in his life and the reputation in the mountains of being one of the deadliest shots…” When York was a teen, his father died of typhoid fever in 1911, leaving behind his wife and eleven children. That was a particularly hard time for York, he became known for being wild. …show more content…
During his lifetime, he raised money for a high school, the Alvin C. York Technical Institute and a Bible school. His elementary school is named in his honor, the state highway 127 is name York Highway, York’s church is named York Chapel, many statues are of him, and a Sergeant York Tank is named after him, which ironically, could not hit anything it shot at, and many more. Even the hill where he captured the Germans is how named York’s Hill in his honor. He certainly is a man worthy of all his honor, not just because he captured over a hundred and thirty Germans, but because he is humble enough to try to forget the people that he has killed. He “went through the war with a clean heart, clean hands, and clean