Some time ago, I expressed doubts that SGT ALVIN YORK, the famous WW1 rifleman & war hero, actually did the deeds attributed to him. I suspected war propaganda, common in WW1.
Alvin York was too quirky and complex not to be real, I think. He was an excellent marksman who sought conscientious objector status, but it was denied to him. (Yeah, I know you know. :))
Interesting that this particular famous Tennessee war hero wasn’t a “volunteer.”
He was undoubtedly a brave man who kept his head in a perious situation and used his training and his natural abilities to prevail. But 132 men don’t fail to prevail over nine enemies without serious motivation problems. With just over four weeks of the war left to go the German Army’s morale was disintegrating and Germany was already searching for a way to end the war.
Many equally brave men have given their best and had no one left alive to carry the tale home of how they died.
I used to teach military strategy and tactics at one of our nation’s service academies, and the big brains of the War College variety agreed with you, Mk VII. Nothing detracted from Sgt. York - what he did took tremendous courage, especially with his inner conflict going on.