Military Review English Edition September-October 2014 | Page 116
earned the Medal of Honor. Mastriano then provides an overview of York’s remaining years and his
efforts to help his community prepare to meet the
challenges of a new world. Mastriano ends his book
with a thorough discussion defending his research.
Alvin York was born into a typical hard-scrabble
existence common to many Americans raised in the
backwoods areas of the country in the late 1880s.
The Cumberland Valley of Tennessee was in many
respects a good representation of the predominantly
rural America of that time. Families scratched out a
living from the land with subsistence farming, augmented by hunting and fishing. There was a strong
religious element within rural communities as well
as a brawling, moonshine-drinking element that
took to the bars on weekends. Alvin York was intimately familiar with both elements before he took
his place at the “mourners’ bench” on New Year’s
Day, 1915, when he accepted the Lord as his savior.
Alvin’s relatively strict brand of religion led him
to request status as a conscientious objector and,
despite numerous appeals his request was never
accepted. Alvin was lucky that some of early military
leaders were also men of strong religious convictions.
They had many discussions that eventually enabled
Alvin to reconcile fighting for his country with his
religious views. Like many new soldiers from rural
backgrounds, Alvin had little difficulty with the
physical rigors and discomforts of soldier training;
in fact, his exposure to men from different parts of
the country and recent immigrants was probably the
greater challenge.
Many rural soldiers had difficulty with sea sickness
while traveling to first England and then on to France.
Once in France, his unit had experiences typical of
most American expeditionary forces as they moved
from the coast of France into training areas where
they learned tactics, techniques, and procedures from
French and British veterans. Alvin’s unit, the 328th
Regiment of the 82nd Division, was eased into the
lines of a “quiet sector” east of Verdun. Known as the
Woevre Front, Lagny Sector, this quiet sector nonetheless afforded York’s 328th Regiment the complete
laundry list of experiences to be expected in the coming
battles. They patrolled in no-man’s land, endured artillery barrages and gas attacks, and both conducted and
defended against trench line raids.
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After its baptism by fire, York’s unit moved to
the vicinity of Châtel Chéhéry to play their role in the
Argonne Offensive. York’s unit attacked on 8 October
1918 and he took his place among the great warriors
in American history. Mastriano takes the reader step
by step, rush by rush, through York’s actions in the
fight. York used his hunting skills, honed by placing
food on his family’s table, and his faith in God to take
him through the fighting—to accomplish one of the
greatest recorded feats on a battlefield in American
military history. With source materials from both
German and U.S. historical files, Mastriano provided details of the fight such that readers will feel they
are part of the battle. When York marches his 132
captives back into friendly lines he is asked if has captured the whole German army.
Mastriano takes the reader through the remainder
of York’s service until his return to the United States
on 22 May 1919. Mastriano details how York’s fame
grows—despite York’s incredible personal humbleness
and refusal to make any fuss over his actions. The
story of York’s homecoming—complete with ticker
tape parade in New York City—is almost comical.
The simple soldier York only wanted to go home and
resume his life but he was tugged in various directions
by many looking to take advantage of his fame. Upon
his return home York continues to refuse offers that
would have made him a rich man and Mastriano details York’s efforts to bring education and opportunity
to the young people of his rural community as well
as his efforts to warn of the dangers posed by Hi ѱ