A Change of Heart: Alvin York and the Movie Sergeant York

Birdwell | A Change of Heart: Alvin York and the Movie Sergeant York Michael E. Birdwell Tennessee Technical University A Change of Heart: Alvin York and the Movie Sergeant York ? ^S V^nown as the greatestAmerican hero ofWorld War I,Alvin C.Yorkavoided profiting from his war record before 1939.' Although he was wooed at the war's end by Hollywood, Broadway, and various advertisers, York turned his back on quick and certain fortune in 1919, opting to go home to Pall Mall, Tennessee to resume private life Largely unknown to most Americans today is the fact that York returned to America with a single vision. He wanted to provide a practical educational opportunity for the mountain children of Tennessee . Painfully aware of his intellectual limitations, York dedicated the remainder of his life to education. Today York Agricultural and Industrial Institute, north of Jamestown, Tennessee stands as a monument to his dream. When York finally agreed to allow a movie to be made about him, he insisted that the film emphasize his work since the war and not dwell on his actions as a war hero. The nature ofdie country changed over the course of York's struggle to improve education. His campaign began during the flush time ofthe 1920s and he foughtvaliantly to keep the school open as funds dried up during the Depression. By the mid-1930s the clouds ofwar again loomed on the horizon and York, like most Americans, renewed his vowofpacifism. The specter ofwar led many legislators, authors, and journalists to remind the public ofthe disappointments associated with World War I. With the world once again appeared on the verge ofwar, the official stance ofthe United States government proved reminiscent ofYork's initial attitude toward the first World War. America in 1939 (and York in 1917) had to be convinced that war was not only justifiable, but necessary. At the same time, the threat of war had rekindled the interest ofsome filmmakers, most notably Jesse L. Lasky, into reviving the story ofYork's WWI exploits. Lasky, having witnessed the famous New York reception for the hero from his eighth-floor office in May of 1919, knew he was destined to tell York's story. While several studios found interest in the saga in 1919, only Lasky of Famous Players-Paramount (later associated with Twentieth Century-Fox, and finally Warner Bros.) persistently pursued him (Lasky and Weldon 252253 ). When York relented, he announced that the film would "be a true picture of my life. . .my contributions since the war. It won't be a war picture. I don't like war pictures" ("Sergeant York Surrenders"). He later declared: "Actually its going to be more a story of our people up there in the mountains than it is of me. It's going to show how education has been taken into the mountains and how we're training our young people now to be good citizens. My part in the war should be presented only as an incident in my life" (Lee, "Appalachia on Film" 211-212). Despite York's ambitions, the film definitely was a war picture. The original screenplay presented the war as an epiphany which forced York to recognize his own inadequacies but fulfilled his wish to improve himself and his homeland. Unfortunately, that film was never made; the motion picture that arrived in movie theatres in July of 1941 not only signaled a profound change in 22 I Film & History World War II in Film | Special In-Depth Section York's pacifism but sounded a clarion call for American entry in World War II. The York Story and Jesse Lasky Ironically, Alvin C. York had applied for conscientious objector status in 1917, but the Fentress County Draft Board denied his request because it refused to recognize the Church of Christ in Christian Union as a legitimate Christian sect.3 He fought reluctantly in the Great War and, once it ended, often spoke publicly against war. The laconic hero even conducted impromptu prayer meetings on his troopship as it returned home (York Papers, Pall Mall, Tennessee, hereafter YP). His heartfelt belief that war was morally evil never wavered before his association with Jesse Lasky and Warner...