Sergeant York
An American Hero
David D. Lee
- A
- stirring
- account
- of
- the
- heroic
- World
- War
- I
- exploits
- and
- life
- of
- Tennessean
- Alvin
- C.
- York.
- “Reads
- like
- a
- good
- novel.”
- —Southern
- LivingIn
- a
- brief
- encounter
- on
- October
- 8,
- 1918,
- during
- the
- Argonne
- offensive,
- Alvin
- C.
- York
- killed
- 25
- German
- soldiers
- and,
- almost
- singlehandedly,
- effected
- the
- capture
- of
- 132
- others.
- Returning
- to
- the
- United
- States
- the
- following
- spring,
- he
- received
- a
- tumultuous
- public
- welcome
- and
- a
- flood
- of
- offers
- from
- businessmen
- eager
- to
- capitalize
- on
- his
- acclaimed
- feat.
- But
- York,
- true
- to
- his
- character,
- went
- quietly
- back
- to
- his
- home
- in
- the
- Tennessee
- mountains,
- where
- he
- spent
- the
- remainder
- of
- his
- life
- working
- to
- bring
- schools
- and
- other
- services
- to
- those
- remote
- valleys
- where
- his
- neighbors
- lived.In
- this
- definitive
- biography,
- David
- D.
- Lee
- goes
- beyond
- that
- single
- wartime
- episode,
- however,
- to
- consider
- its
- consequences
- on
- York’s
- later
- life—his
- efforts,
- not
- always
- successful,
- to
- better
- his
- mountain
- community;
- his
- involvement
- in
- making
- a
- motion
- picture
- of
- his
- life;
- his
- difficulties
- with
- money
- and
- taxes.
- But
- Sergeant
- York
- is
- better
- known
- as
- a
- symbol
- than
- as
- an
- individual,
- and
- in
- this
- study
- Lee
- connects
- the
- man
- and
- his
- life
- to
- an
- American
- heroic
- ideal.
- With
- his
- rural
- background,
- his
- refusal
- to
- take
- commercial
- advantage
- of
- his
- fame,
- and
- his
- simple
- piety,
- Alvin
- York
- exemplified
- the
- traditional
- values
- of
- an
- agrarian
- America
- that
- was
- in
- his
- own
- day
- already
- receding
- into
- the
- past.
- He
- claimed
- a
- special
- place
- in
- the
- hearts
- of
- his
- countrymen,
- Lee
- concludes,
- because
- his
- life
- seemed
- to
- show
- that
- the
- virtues
- of
- the
- common
- man
- continued
- to
- be
- a
- vital
- part
- of
- American society.
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