File No.: Battle Study # 19
Title: Location where Sgt. Alvin C. York earned the Medal of Honor
Investigation made at: Châtel-Chéhéry, France
Period Covered: October 8th, 1918
Date:  July - November 2010
Case Classification: Description of Battlefield / Combat Scene
Case Status: Case Closed
REASON FOR INVESTIGATION: It came to our attention that efforts to locate the spot where US Army Corporal (later promoted to Sergeant) Alvin Cullum York of “G” Company, 328th Infantry Regiment earned the Medal of Honor for his actions on 8 OCT 1918 in France, have become the topic of discussion. Generally, two schools can be distinguished; a group named the Sergeant York Discovery Expedition (“SYDE”) with a military background and a multi-disciplinary group of experts named “The Sergeant York Project”.

The SYDE-group, led by US Army Colonel Mastriano, claims to have found “the only possible location where York could have earned the Medal of Honor.”
The Sergeant York Project is based on a dissertation, submitted in 2007, which earned geographer Thomas Nolan his doctor-title. Two subsequent field searches have led to the theory that the general area of the engagement can be pinpointed.

Battledetective.com read the reports, studied subsequent publications and visited the battlefield.
 

SYNOPSIS:  
The actions of Sergeant York which earned him the Medal of Honor, is described in the citation for his decoration:

“Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company G, 328th Infantry, 82nd Division. Place and date: Near Châtel-Chéhéry, France, 8 October 1918. Entered service at: Pall Mall, Tenn. Born: 13 December 1887, Fentress County, Tenn. G.O. No.: 59, W.D., 1919. Citation: After his platoon had suffered heavy casualties and 3 other noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Corporal York assumed command. Fearlessly leading 7 men, he charged with great daring a machinegun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machinegun nest was taken, together with 4 officers and 128 men and several guns.”

- Source: (http://www.army.mil/cmh/) -
His actions earned him the highest US Military medal, the Medal of Honor. In 1941, York's heroics were reenacted in a feature film, starring Academy Award winner Gary Cooper as Sergeant York. This is a clip from the movie showing the battle on the "York Spot":


 

Dr. Nolan’s dissertation
In his dissertation, on page 4, Tom Nolan describes the general problem of locating the exact "York Spot" as follows:

"The exact events and locations regarding York's exploits at Châtel-Chéhéry have long been the subject of controversy. Recollections of the German and American participants in the fight conflict on several key points and change over time. York's account of his movements is difficult to reconcile with major terrain features. The descriptions of York's actions in various biographies are conflicting and the maps included in two of the books have gross spatial errors. Maps compiled for the official history of the 82nd Division do not agree in some respects with modern topographic maps."

The actions of Corporal York and his men are described in more detail on pages 18-20

After studying numerous accounts and documents and conducting field researches on location, using sophisticated equipment, Nolan concludes on page 103:

“In summary, the area with the highest concentration of artifacts is consistent with the documentary evidence describing the location of the York fight and confirms the site of the engagement.”

and (on pages 112 and 113):

"It seems reasonable to conclude that the western side of the hill south west of Hill 223 is the site of the engagement that resulted in Alvin York being awarded the Medal of Honor. The high degree of correlation between the documentary and physical evidence confirms the location beyond a reasonable doubt. The concentration of German artifacts in the area identified on the map by Buxton and Danforth as the site of the engagement, the collar insignia from a member of G Company, 328th Infantry at the bottom of the hill, and the pattern of .45 cartridge cases in relation to the German machine gun that could only have fired to the rear of the German position combine to confirm this conclusion. The location of the original burials of the American dead as recorded by the Graves Registration Service in relation to the hill provides further proof […]"
 

The SYDE-report
In his report, Col. Mastriano describes the problem of location the "York Spot" as follows:

“Sgt York's legendary fire fight took place on the morning of 8 October 1918 at the height of the Meuse Argonne Offensive. Combat operations associated with that offensive would continue until the armistice at 1100hrs 11 November 1918. Roughly three months later in February 1919 an investigative team led by the Brigade Commander BG Julian R. Lindsey including Alvin York returned to the site of the fire fight to determine if York's actions merited award of the Medal of Honor. Years passed, memories faded and witnesses passed away leaving no definitive location as to where the events associated with Sgt York's feat occurred in the ravine behind the small village of Chatel Chehery, France."

After researching, mostly German, documents, and doing field research with the use of metal detectors on the battlefield of 2nd Battalion, 328th Infantry Regiment, Mastriano found "[…] twenty-one Colt .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) shell casings fired by York […]. The 1919 History of the 82nd Division A.E.F. states that York fired three complete clips from his sidearm – for a total of twenty-one shell casings. This is the "York Spot.""


 

The report concludes:
"Within this 100-meter area, York was the only American to use a Colt .45 ACP making their discovery a centerpiece of the search. Although this find was decisive, the other artifacts verify the complete story that York earned the Medal of Honor here. The location agrees with written German and American testimony in every detail and is located along the flanks of the 120th and 125th Württemberg regiments (only one possible location in the entire Argonne Forest). The location is in conformity with the battle progression / sequence of events as recorded in the German and American battle logs. The location where SYDE uncovered the York spot is accurate and agrees with the above."
Subsequent publications
American archeologist James B. Legg wrote "Finding Sergeant York" in Legacy Magazine of February 2010.
Legg is convinced the SYDE-team pinpointed a "non-site".
In 2009 he assisted Dr. Nolan in a new field research on the location generally described in the 2007 dissertation.
Of the report and the results of the new search he says:
"[…] the very detailed and well-supported participant narratives of the York action fit astonishingly well with the current landscape and the archaeological data."
In Legg's opinion, the SYDE-project "was well intentioned, but amounted to an unsystematic, unprovenienced, and unauthorized relic hunt on the battlefield of the main 328th attack on October 8, 1918, (where, of course, there were thousands of American and German artifacts)."

Dutch historian Stephan van Meulebrouck wrote an article titled "Hot on the York Trail?" in The Western Front Association Bulletin of June/July 2009. In it, he critically studies both reports and claims made by Nolan and Mastriano.
Van Meulebrouck remarks that Dr. Nolan's team "could have avoided a lot of problems if it had looked through the German archive material itself."
In an interview, retired US Army sergeant Brad Posey, says of Mastriano's findings: "The count of .45 casings is now over the twenty-one he states in his report. […] In his report he only mentions and illustrates those artefacts that support his claim."

Van Meulebrouck's article contains two interesting statements.
Yves Desfossés, the regional archaeological curator:
"Using current archaeological methods […] the York Spot cannot be pinpointed."

Dr. Jeffrey Clarke, director of the US Army’s Center of Military History:
"There's no real way to find the exact spot."
 
Battlefield visit
We have no intention at all to redo the efforts made by the various historians.
On Saturday 30 OCT 2010 battledetective.com visited the battlefield.

We have examined both the York Monument and York Trail on the location marked by the Sgt. York Discovery Expedition, and also the location indicated by the Sgt. York Project.

Before traveling to the Argonne Forest, we were extensively briefed by Brad Posey.
Brad is an American historian who lives in Germany.
He had been invited to help the SYDE-team in excavating artifacts. While doing that, he became convinced that the location where Sgt. York earned the Medal of Honor must have been somewhere else then where he was digging.
He then joined in on the work of Dr. Nolan's team. To him it is certain that the "York Spot" as indicated by Nolan is the correct one.

Brad advised us and sent diagrams with maps, the discovery locations of artifacts and evidence, and their positions in relation to relevant historic and strategic sites in the battle area.
 

(click for the full-scale image)
After we had entered the village of Châtel-Chéhéry, we left our car and headed into town.
The streets were practically empty of people, but there were puppets of witches on every street corner.
Halloween and a posted patron saint celebration must have triggered this creativity.
 

(click to enlarge)
The first impression of the battlefield was that all the relevant spots are in very close proximity to one another.
Following Posey’s advice, we followed the "York Trail" for two stops and then headed into the woods which, according to The Sergeant York Project’s theorizing, was the field of fire of German machine guns. These positions had been on a hill top South of the route of approach of 2nd Battalion of the 328th Regiment.
 
"York Spot" according to The Sergeant York Project
Posey's directions led us straight to the location where The Sergeant York Project thinks the engagement between York’s squad and German soldiers took place. Therefore we had not followed the route of York's patrol as it was sent rearward with orders to outflank the machineguns that stopped 2nd Battalion's advance. Dr. Nolan based his theory of a wide south-western (clockwise) advance on the annotated maps of York's Company and Battalion commanders.
 

(click for the full-scale image)
Makeshift tree monument
Following a meandering creek, we came to the top of a small slope, where a white laminated sheet of paper was nailed to one of the trees. It was a makeshift monument, honoring "The Other Sixteen" American soldiers in York's patrol; and especially their casualties.
We found several national flags, almost consumed by the forest and tried to reconstruct what must have been the open air shrine once:

(click to enlarge)
Location where York's squad and their prisoners were fired upon
With the help of the photographs Brad Posey had provided us with, we found the location where Dr. Nolan thinks that German machine gunners fired on York’s patrol killing Corporal Savage and Privates Dymowski, Wareing, Weiler and Wine. Period accounts have it that their bodies were eventually buried in field graves where thy had fallen.
 

(click to enlarge)

 
Hypothesized route of York's uphill attack
According to the diagram of Posey’s diagram of the York Engagement, the exact location and course of York's uphill charge is still open for further investigation.
This is an impression of the general area:
 

(click to enlarge)
The (alleged) former field grave of CPL Savage
We also found the location of which Dr. Nolan claims it had been CPL Savage's field grave. This was based on the study of the US Army Grave Registration Service record, a period photograph of the field grave and on the discovery of artifacts supporting the theory. The re-excavated gravesite was marked by French and American flags. We took the time to create a Now&Then image of the field grave site.
 

(click for the full-scale image)
The (alleged) location of the 1919 photograph of SGT York
Part of the investigation to determine if Alvin York earned America's highest medal, was a visit to the battlefield in early 1919, several months after the actions. The US Army Signal Corps had taken photographs of York on the spot of his battle. Brad Posey had made his theory of where York's photograph was taken available to us. We were happy to stand in for Alvin York in these Now&Then images:
 

(click for the full-scale images)

Traces of Combat Scene Investigations
The forest revealed other traces of The Sergeant York Project's battlefield investigations:

(click to enlarge)
  

"York Spot" according to the Sergeant York Discovery Expedition
We then went back to the original "York Trail", following the various explanatory markers.
These markers tell the story as it generally appears in most historical publications and military reports.
 

(click to enlarge)
Remarkably, this route also describes a clockwise maneuver made by York's patrol, but with a much less curved arch, and within the route of advance of the main American force. In other words; given the military objective of the 328th - the German "Argonnenbahn", a narrow gauge railroad to the West - the "York Trail" does not by-pass much ground to launch a flanking attack.
The York Trail led us to a clearing in the forest where we found a beautifully styled monument in SGT York's honor, sponsored by COL Mastriano and others. The monument depicted a large open book, explaining York's actions. Next to it was a marker claiming that this clearing was now named Weider Family Park.


Trench
Another marker in the York Trail design we were now familiar with, explained that a trench, visible just behind the Weider Family Park marker, had been the objective of York's attack. The presence of this trench does explain the SYDE's theory for the attack route of York's patrol.
 


Battle Detective Wilbert
spots the trench
Anti York Heroism Protest
Meanwhile we had become aware of several white laminated sheets of paper, with a text in English and French.
At the start of the Trail we had taken no notice of it as its design resembled the laminated text posted on "The Other Sixteen Tree Monument". But this was something else. We collected one of the English texts for further analysis.
A closer study of the message on the posters, learned that it held a protest against the admiration of SGT York.

(click to enlarge)

The full text in English reads as follows:
 

"This is the actual course of events concerning the doubtful story about Sergeant York One made intensive enquiries about the proceeding of this high-sounding event. In the end one has been able to find out the aged son as well as the diary of the other German Second Lieutenant Paul Hipp, who was the last commander among the survivors of his company which was consisting of only 38 men when they had been handed over their own free will.

On October 8, 1918 the fragments of the 125th Wurtemberg territorial regiment were in action near to the Valerine-Ravine situated between Châtel and Cornay. They had to hold a sector of 800 meters. The mostly untrained territorial had no chance at all to man the light machine guns. The average effectives amounted to 30 until 40 riflemen as it usual for every company.
Among them were many fillers of some other disbanded units who were extraordinarily suffered from purposelessness and thus constituted a threat of subversion. For this reason this territorial regiment had no more military strength at all.

The men of Hipp's company were totally exhausted. They were short of ammunition, rations and they lacked of relies. For the most part they were aged family men and grandpas who tried to save their bacons in order to return to their families. They did not intend to fight a loosing battle.
These 38 exhausted dads were just fed up with the war.

And these old men were the result of the Sergeant's "heroic deed".
We are observing a nice fairytale or a doubtful legend or even a fabulous bragging.
Form your own mind!
In a war there are no living heroes but only dead ones!"


The simple counter argument that we will bring to bear against this protest, are the images of the grave markers of York's buddies in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery. Stone cold proof that the so-called "exhausted old dads
[…] just fed up with the war" of the 125th Würtemburg Regiment had been well capable of taking American lives:

(click to enlarge)
                       
From left to right: Pvt's Dymowski, Weiler, Wine, Wareing, and Cpl. Savage
This is an impression of the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery:
(click to enlarge)


Informal 1914-1918 Argonne Museum
During the preparation of our battlefield visit we were advised to visit the Informal 1914-1918 Argonne Museum, operated by Dutch national Jean-Paul de Vries.
We did so and asked De Vries his opinion about the theories of the Sergeant York Discovery Expedition and of The Sergeant York Project.
De Vries was concise about it:

"I am not going to come in between these groups and their theories. I run a museum with artifacts from Romagne and I observe a strict circle with a five kilometer diameter around the village for their origins.
The York spot is well outside this range. I understand that the relatives of SGT York are content with the location where the monument is now. I have even heard of a new, a third, investigation initiated by the ancestors of the other members of York’s patrol. They seem to seek recognition for the heroism of their forefathers and are even trying to request posthumous military decorations for them."


DeVries continued to tell us of numerous other stories of The Great War.
We were even provided with a number of Battle Relics which may be featured in future publications.

(click to enlarge)

CONCLUSIONS:

Which one is "The Right York Spot"?
As stated before, we never had the intention to conduct an independent investigation to locate the spot where Alvin York earned his Medal of Honor.
But after reading the relevant publications and visiting the Argonne Forest, we feel safe to say that we consider the area designated by the Sergeant York Project as the most likely "York combat scene".

Most convincing is the fact that the spot targeted by the Sergeant York Discovery Expedition is in the middle of the route of advance of 2nd Battalion of the 328th Infantry.
This unit was stopped in its progress by enemy machine gun positions which York's patrol was then tasked to eliminate. The patrol circled around these positions to do so.
Therefore, the "York Spot" can only be away from the route of advance of the main force, to be reached by a flanking maneuver.

We conducted only a minor investigation, combining modern techniques and old fashioned detective work.
We pinpointed the exact (GPS-) locations of the discovery of the G/328th collar disk and of Dr. Nolan’s research area on Google Earth™ and made a print of the screen. We then enlarged the map, annotated by Buxton and Danforth in 1929, to the size where still-existing terrain features (such as the forked main street of Chatel-Chéhéry and the course of the Argonnenbahn railway track) matched. We then copied it on a transparent sheet and put in on the Google Earth™ print as an overlay.
The area of the York engagement as indicated by his commanding officers is consistent with the locations marked with yellow drawing pins on Google Earth™.

(Click to enlarge)

If nothing else, this was convincing enough to us for the likelihood of the right location.

EXHIBITS: 
In closing this Battle Study we humbly display digital images of the man who has been its subject.
Our favorite photographs are the ones that show the Medal of Honor on him.

(Click on the thumbnails to enlarge)
 

January 9th, 2013 UPDATE:

York Family Farm, Pall Mall, Tennessee
On Wednesday November 7th 2012 we drove to Pall Mall; birth place and home of Alvin C. York.
In close proximity, on both sides of Highway 127 "York Highway", are the York grist water mill and the visitor center (which used to be the Alvin C. York & Sons General Store which the family ran after World War One), an armored self-propelled anti aircraft gun named after Sergeant York and the family farm with barns, grain silos and the York residence.
In the garden of the house is a bust of York on a column with his exploits engraved in it.
Inside the house, Alvin York's last bed can be seen as well as all the rooms and kitchen.
The front door features a bullet whole from an incidental discharge of one of York’s Luger pistols which he brought back from France.
Behind the house are the barns and grain silos.
A path and a swinging suspension footbridge across Wolf River lead to the burial site of Alvin and his wife Gracie Loretta York on Wolf River Cemetery; which we also visited.

(Click on the thumbnails to enlarge)

Tennessee State Museum, Military Branch, Nashville, Tennessee
On Tuesday morning November 13th 2012 we visited the Tennessee State Museum, Military Branch located in the War Memorial Building in Nashville.
Sergeant Alvin C. York's uniform, medals, dog tags and various German weaponry he brought back from France are on permanent display in this museum.
Also, a temporary exhibition named "In the Footsteps of Sergeant York", is on display here from November 10th (Veterans Day) through May 9, 2013.

Incidentally, we had already visited the State Museum building the previous day, Monday November 12th only to find a closed door due to Veterans Day weekend and the holiday which was observed that day.
But we were rewarded for returning this Tuesday.

In the "Footsteps-"exhibition section we met none other than Margie Nolan, wife of Dr. Tom Nolan who located the area where Sergeant York, most likely, earned his Medal of Honor.
Margie Nolan took part in the team that conducted research in the Argonne Forest outside the village of Châtel-Chéhéry.

(Click to enlarge)
Margie was instrumental in setting up the “Footsteps-“exhibition and she was just putting a glass case with a "G" Company / 328th Infantry collar disc on display when we met her.
We got a personal tour along the various display cases and explanatory panels.
We both agreed that the terrain and vegetation of the area around Pall Mall and Châtel-Chéhéry look very similar.
The exhibition featured uniforms and weapons of the US, French and German Imperial armies and artifacts found on the Argonne battlefield.

We saw a very comprehensible scale mock up of the battle field which leaves few doubts as to the correctness of the location indicated by Dr. Nolan's team.
Green army foot lockers, doubling as display cases, showed various items found on the "York Spot"; especially in the locations of the former field graves of York's patrol members who had been killed in action.

In the museum's permanent display we studied York's doughboy uniform, medals and other items.


(Click on the thumbnails to enlarge)

 

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