Today, in commemoration of Veteran's Day tomorrow, or Armistice Day, as it was originally called, we see Gary Cooper as then-Corporal Alvin York, save his unit by making a single-handed an attack on an entrenched German line which resulted in his killing 28 Germans and bringing about the surrender of 132 others along the capture of 32 machine guns.
The real Alvin York was awarded the Medal of Honor for this act, and while he shunned publicity and offers of money for his story for year after returning home, he finally allowed this movie, Sergeant York, to be made about him in 1940, using the $150,000 he was paid for it to finance a Bible school he wanted to build.
Sgt.Alvin York was a great yet humble man
ReplyDeleteLooks like his CO in the move used a 1911A1 and not a 1911 (larger sights on the pistol.)
ReplyDeleteSure like the guy spinning like a top before dropping. He did the same act in two scenes!
Gary Cooper is lucky his butt wasn't shot off as he crawled way to high above the ground.
BTW, you guys do know a .30 cal machingun (or 7.92) can cut a tree in half in maybe 15 seconds or so of fire (quit often in battle you will actually see small trees fall over!) Well that German machinegunner could have gotten Coopers tree in that show!
Gary also bolted the gun all wrong when he surprised the first machinegun nest. In fact he bolted it wrong in the rest of the show. That rifle should have stayed on his shoulder and eyes on the sights as he bolted the gun.
The real York used a 1917 rifle and 1911 pistol (he was a Sgt and thus issued the 1911.)
York most defiantly shot down 7 Germans doing a bayonet charge on him with his .45!
Very very well done!