WWI | United States Army | Company G | 328th Infantry | 82nd Division

On October 8, 1918, after being pinned down in an attempt to capture a narrow-gauge railroad, York took his fateful walk into history. As the company sharp-shooter, he and 16 other soldiers under the command of Acting Sergeant Bernard Early were given the unenviable task of silencing the machine guns that halted the advance the day before. It was a cold, wet morning. Rain mixed with sleet added to the gloom of the fog that draped the landscape. As the soldiers worked their way around the hill, the men on the left flank stood exposed in the creek bottom. German machine gunners opened fire, wounding or killing nine Americans, including York's best friend Murray Savage. York was on the right flank beneath the crest of the hill in a natural depression, which he used to kill nine of the men who operated the guns. In the meantime, his comrades opened fire on the Germans, and in a few minutes 25 were dead. The Germans surrendered to what they thought was a superior force, and York and the American survivors escorted 132 prisoners to American forces at Varennes some 10 miles away.

Louise & Gary Hicks, Overland Park, KS

Liberty Memorial

We are pleased to share this photo of Mr. George York, taken March 12, 2011, at the World War I Museum, Liberty Memorial, Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. York participated in an event in tribute to Mr. Frank Buckles, the last surviving veteran of World War I, to his father, Sergeant Alvin York, and to all those who have guarded our freedom. Mr. York graciously signed two vintage books which were given to us by friends, after we told them about our September 2010 visit to the Sergeant York Museum.

We thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Sergeant York Museum and related sites, and now we are honored to be members of the Sergeant York Historic Foundation. May God bless you for ALL you do to preserve liberty, and May God Bless America.