Alvin C. York - Honors

Honors

Seven public buildings have been named for Alvin York, including the Alvin C. York Veterans Hospital located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The Alvin C. York Institute was founded in 1926 as a private agricultural high school by Alvin York and residents of Fentress County. Due to the depression in 1937 the school became public and continues to serve as Jamestown's high school. On May 5, 2000, the United States Postal Service issued the "Distinguished Soldiers" stamps, one of which honored York.

York Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City was named for the Sergeant in 1928. In the 1980s, the United States Army named its DIVAD weapon system "Sergeant York"; the project was canceled because of technical problems and massive cost overruns. Laura Cantrell's song "Old Downtown" talks about York in depth. The riderless horse in the funeral procession of President Ronald Reagan was named Sergeant York. The 82nd Airborne Division's movie theater at Fort Bragg, North Carolina is named York Theater. The traveling American football trophy between Austin Peay, UT Martin, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech is called the Alvin C. York trophy. A monumental statue of York by sculptor Felix de Weldon was placed on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol in 1968. The Army ROTC program has a ribbon award for its cadets that is named after York. A memorial to graduates of the East Tennessee State University ROTC program who have given their lives for their country carries a quotation from York. The Third Regiment of the Tennessee State Guard is named for York.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Penn Warren used York as the model for characters in two of his novels, both explorations of the burden of fame faced by battlefield heroes in peacetime. In At Heaven's Gate (1943), a Tennessee mountaineer who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War I, returns from combat, becomes a state legislator, and then a bank president. Others exploit his decency and fame for their own selfish ends as the novel explores the real-life experience of an old-fashioned hero in a cynical world. In The Cave (1959), a similar hero from a comparable background has aged and become an invalid. He struggles to maintain his identity as his real self diverges from the robust legend of his youth.