A century has passed since Alvin C. York charged the enemy in France's Argonne Forest and became Tennessee's most famous hero of World War I.

York was one of six Tennesseans to receive the Medal of Honor for valor during World War I. At the time, the conflict wasn't the first of any world wars but often called the Great War or, ironically, the War to End All Wars.

It was Oct. 8, 1918, with heavy fighting in Argonne Forest. York and 16 other soldiers were caught in a German ambush behind enemy lines. An expert marksman who often won shooting competitions back home in Tennessee, York was ordered to silence the German machine guns.

He charged the hill where the Germans were entrenched, killing 25. He captured 132 more of the enemy. His bravery earned him a promotion to sergeant, more than 40 awards and honors and the enduring status of a war hero.

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Becoming a hero

At first, the conflict's results and York's actions were filed in a military report without fanfare. But things changed after April 1919 when Saturday Evening Post writer George Pattullo wrote about the action, singling out the 30-year-old York's heroism.

Two decades later the story got the Hollywood movie treatment. Actor Gary Cooper played the title role in the 1941 "Sergeant York," telling York's story to a new generation.

After the war York returned to Tennessee and established the York Foundation to educate impoverished mountain children. In 1926 he founded Jamestown's Alvin C. York Institute. He later transferred the school to the state of Tennessee; it remains a public high school. He died in 1964 at age 76.

A change in a life

It wasn't war that first dramatically changed York's life. It was God.

Growing up the third of 11 children, he earned a reputation as a fighter and a drinker. But in 1914, York's best friend died in a fight. York began to re-examine his own life. A year later, he converted to the Church of Christ in Christian Union faith, which had strict prohibitions against violence.

So he initially didn't want to go to war. When he got his notice to register for the draft, York applied for conscientious objector status due to his religious beliefs. His application was denied. With that denial, York went to war.

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