On Oct. 8, 1918, in the battle of the Argonne Forest in France, Cpl. Alvin C. York took out an enemy machine gun that had his comrades pinned down. As a result of York's action, a very small group of men captured 132 German prisoners. York was promoted to sergeant and was decorated with a dozen medals, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the French Croix de Guerre, the French Legion of Honor, the Croce di Guerra of Italy, and the War Medal of Montenegro.
A strange occurrence took place recently deep in the Argonne forest of France. Two Midstate university scholars, Michael Birdwell and Tom Nolan, whooped and hollered like Predators fans reacting to a score.
"We were screaming and shouting," Birdwell said. In fact, they had "scored."
Combining their expertise — Birdwell in history and Nolan in high-tech mapmaking — the pair pinpointed with satellite (GPS) accuracy the site where Sgt. Alvin C. York silenced a nest of German machine gunners and captured 132 prisoners during World War I. For his heroics in October 1918, the man from Pall Mall, Tenn., was awarded the Medal of Honor.
While his deed has not been forgotten, the specific site of the action was never officially marked. Through the decades, memories faded and the landscape changed. In recent years, York's battlefield position has been debated. Birdwell and Nolan believe their work may settle the argument.