Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1919-07-04
MONTEREY, VA, JU
Sergeant York

Less imam lWO ySaIS oSo p
boy from the Cumberland
Mountains, in Tennessee, enlisted as
a soldier. Today he is being honor
ed all over the country as the hero
who performed in the Argonne For.
est a feat which eclipsed anything
else of it's kind in all the military
history of the world. 1t was feat
which elected praise from Generals
Pershing and Foch and secured Tor
the hero various badges of dlstlnc-
ton. In the fighting in the Arsonne
this mountain boy killed more than
twenty Germans and captured one
hundred and thirty-two prisoners
and more than twenty-five machine
guns. First the prisoners were cap
tured and then York, while his SIX
companions guarded the prisoners
did his deadly work with his auto
matte and effected the capture of the
guns.
The world has been lavish in its
praises of this feat. New YORK.
Washington, Nashville and other
cities have done him honor. Every
member of Congress rose to his feet
when Sergeant York was presented
to that body.
Nashville gave the hero a great
ovation lately. He and his wife were
the guests of Governor Roberts. Sew
en- thousand people gathered in Ry-
man Auditorium to see and applaud
the hero. The city in various ways
has testified it's appreciation of his
distinguished service to his country.
The biggest factor in the makeup
and experience of Sergeant York is
his character. Great as was his
physical courage, his moral courage
is greater. He was a God-fearlng
boy when he was in his mountain
home. He went through the trying
experience of camp life, of rough SER
vice, of adulation by the greatest gen
erals and the greatest cities of Amer
lea, and we find him today with a
stronger and simpler faith in God
than when he babe his mother fare
we'll nerly two years ago. George
Patullo, the famous war correspon-
dent, said: Corporal York, you
must have cussed little-just lit
t4e-at times during the war, didn't
your" NO" said the soldier, mot
"A cuss word; I have played the game
straight" Play the game straight
seems to be his motto. He never
loses an opportunity in the short
talks which he makes to say that it
was his faith in God that enabled
him to do what he has done. The
most beautiful thing, next to his
faith in God, that we have seen in
him is his love for his good old Chris
tian mother, who says that she never
prayed for her boy to become hero,
but only that he might come back as
a good boy. This mother came to
Nashville with her son. She sat
with him and his bride on the stage.
The old mother wore a plain, old
fashioned poke" bonnet and an
apron and famed herself with tur-
key wing fan. The distinguished
son was as proud of her as if she had
been dressed in silks.
We feel that Sergeant York, who,
by the way, is now Colonel York and
a member of the staff of the Governor
of Tennessee, will be great object
lesson for good to the present gener-
alton. He will illustrate the higher
and supreme value of moral manhood
as distinguished from the mere ma
terial elements. He will teach that
the finest physical PROVERBS must
have moral base. He will be a
blessing to the thousands and thous-
ands of young people who have adopt
ed the idea that real, brave soldier
must use profanity and swagger and
truly be ''of the world worldly" Out
of the simple Christian faith and the
primitive atmosphere of the Clmber-
land plateau has come the worlds
greatest military hero, so far as indi-
vidual exploit is concerned and as
measured by military standards
Christian Advocate.