Historical museum narration
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
Mhm. Yeah, He was 30 years old when he was drafted into the army in 1917. Though, Alvin york had never ventured very far from his home in Fentress county Tennessee. His impact on our national memory of the american experience in World War and the overall awareness he brought to the medal of honor are still felt today throughout his life. The road for york was never easy, lacking little formal education. He worked road construction and other manual labor jobs as a young man to support his impoverished mother and siblings. After the accidental death of his father considered rough and rowdy, he turned to pacifism in his twenties as a path to personal redemption, a stance that later complicated his role in the Great War. When the United States entered World War, Alvin York initially sought conscientious objector status He refused to fight. However, his perspective on violence evolved during basic training and when he shipped out as a member of the 82nd Division for France and April 1918, he had developed a reasoned understanding that the death and carnage associated with war was a necessary evil. As it turned out, Alvin york's actions on the Western Front during the Meuse Argonne Offensive. In early october not only enhanced his reputation as a reluctant warrior, but provided the foundation for his life's work. When he returned home from the european battlefields, he was a national hero, the most recognized Medal of Honor recipient from World War One york used his notoriety to promote and provide for the Children of Fentress County what he saw as his greatest weakness. Education, he fervently lobbied the state legislature while at the same time touring the country to raise funds for the school he built in nearby Jamestown, the york Institute. Mhm. Mhm. When the state passed a compulsory Education Act in 1925, york advocated for additional funding for underserved rural schools across Tennessee, an easy target. Because of his fame, he was constantly assailed by his adversaries. However, he stayed committed to his cause. Today, Sergeant Alvin C. York is not only one of the nation's most renowned Medal of Honor recipients, but to Tennesseans, a soldier and champion for rural education. Mhm.