Battles of the First World War Podcast · Mike Cunha

Great War Expo II at SGT Alvin C. York State Park in Tennessee

·44 min·2 clips

Tanner Wells says the film leaves out the nuance of York’s life, from a 1911 family crisis to a 1915 “Come to Jesus moment.”

1. Battles of the First World War Podcast visits Sergeant Alvin C. York State Park in Pall Mall, Tennessee, to discuss Great War Expo II. 2. Park rangers Nate Dodson and Tanner Wells explain the park’s mission, and Mike hosts the conversation as the park previews an April 5 event. 3. The episode asks what Great War Expo II is for, and the answer is a gathering place for World War I historians, enthusiasts, and casual visitors. 4. Dodson says the park is one of 59 Tennessee state parks and preserves York’s home and farm in the valley of the Three Forks of the Wolf River. 5. Wells says many visitors know York only through the 1941 Gary Cooper film, which compresses a much longer and more complicated life. 6. The discussion places York in a family and community shaped by the Civil War’s psychological effects and the isolation of rural Tennessee. 7. Wells names York’s father’s death in 1911 and York’s responsibility for his mother and siblings as part of the story behind his wartime views. 8. York’s January 1, 1915 New Year’s Day conversion is presented as the moment that shaped his later refusal to fight and kill. 9. The speakers stress York’s own phrasing that he wanted to serve, but did not want to fight or kill. 10. The wartime section links York to the 82nd Division during the Meuse-Argonne offensive and the effort to drive westward and sever a rail line. 11. The conversation ties that action to the larger effort to help the Lost Battalion of the 77th Division. 12. Wells says York never liked being described as having acted alone, and the park tries to preserve that broader context. 13. Dodson says York was offered about $500,000 in 1919, which the episode converts to well over $9 million today. 14. The ranger contrasts that fortune with York’s prewar work on the Dixie short route for $1.56 a day. 15. The speakers frame York’s refusal of endorsement money as both a moral choice and a common postwar impulse to go home. 16. The park also highlights York’s postwar work in education, public service, infrastructure, and bringing electricity to the valley. 17. Dodson and Wells describe their own jobs as multi-role park ranger work that includes law enforcement, interpretation, maintenance, and emergency response. 18. They say the same staff can move from search and rescue to cleaning bathrooms, running programs, and restoring buildings. 19. Listeners interested in World War I history, Alvin C. York, or Tennessee sites tied to the Great War will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking only for a short general introduction to World War I may skip the detailed local and event planning material.

As heard by us

A grounded look at Sergeant Alvin C. York State Park as a preserved World War I site and host of Great War Expo II.

Great War Expo II presents Sergeant Alvin C. York State Park as more than a preserved landmark; it also works as a place for World War I interpretation.

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Why you'd press play

You want a clear path into Sergeant Alvin C. York State Historic Park and its Great War Expo.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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