THIS MONTH IN AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY
Alvin C. York makes life miserable for the Kaiser! On October, 8, 1918, Yorkâs platoon was advancing toward the Decauville railway when they were hit with German machine gun fire from all sides. The doughboys captured one gun, but the noise drew the fire of the remaining German emplacements, killing six and seriously wounding three Americans. As the most senior of the remaining doughboys, York went out alone to engage the enemy with just his rifle and service revolver, picking off the machinegunners one by one. When the fighting was over, York had single-handedly eliminated 35 machine guns, killed more than 20 Germans and taken 132 members of a Prussian Guards regiment as prisoners. For his actions he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.