The York Patrol: The Real Story of Alvin York and the Unsung Heroes Who Made Him World War I’s Most Famous Soldier

In this well-researched account, historian Nelson (The Polar Bear Expedition) adds depth to one of WWI’s most celebrated stories: the “single-handed” capture of 132 German soldiers by Cpl. Alvin York. Raised in rural Tennessee, York was a born-again Christian who sought a religious exemption from the draft. Denied multiple times, he eventually determined it was “God’s will” he should go to war. During an October 1918 offensive in France’s Argonne forest, York’s infantry company captured a German unit in a ravine behind enemy lines. As they rounded up the prisoners, German machine gunners firing from the hilltop above killed six Americans. York and other soldiers fired back, killing two dozen and forcing more than a hundred more Germans to surrender. York, who was credited with “the lion’s share of the dead,” received a congressional Medal of Honor and became a reluctant media sensation, sparking resentment among some of his platoon mates. Nelson spotlights York’s forgotten comrades, including Bernard Early, an Irish bartender, and Otis Merrithew, who ran away from home to join the Army under a false name, and packs the account with detailed battlefield logistics. Military history buffs will savor learning the truth behind this WWI legend. (Jan.)