Highlighting the Heroic Action of Corporal York
Richard Lance Keeble
The heroic action of Corporal Alvin York, who single-handedly captured 132 German troops and killed 25 in a desperate fire-fight in the Argonne Forest in October 1918, was the subject of a fascinating talk in St Martin’s Church, Withcall, on 28 August 2025, by Grimsby-based Mike Kelly.
Kelly, Director and owner of Apollo Battlefield Guide, said that York, who was born in rural Tennessee in December 1887, was in the battalion of the 328th Infantry Regiment which became pinned down by heavy machine-gun and artillery fire. Its commander sent Sergeant Bernard Early, four non-commissioned officers, including the recently promoted Corporal York, together with 13 privates to infiltrate the German positions. They were among the 1,200,000 men deployed in what has become known as the Hundred Days Offensive – the largest in the United States’ military history.
Displaying detailed plans, maps and diagrams in his PowerPoint presentation, Mike not only highlighted York’s outstanding courage but explained the meticulous research he, along with a multi-national team of historians, archaeologists and geographers, has conducted to reveal the exact ravine where one of the most famous US military actions of the First World War took place.
- Mike Kelly is the author of Hero on the Western Front: Discovering Alvin York’s WW1 Battlefield, Frontline Books, 2018. The talk was part of a series which is aiming to raise money for church funds. The next one will be given by Martin Chapman on ‘Lincolnshire Life’, Thursday 25 September, 7 pm, St Martin’s Church, Withcall.