World War I posters in Brooklyn by Charles Edward Chambers, 1917. Right hand side in Yiddish. Source: Library of Congress
Veterans Day is officially observed on Monday the 12th, though it falls Sunday, Nov. 11, this year. Veterans’ Day celebrates living veterans who are or have served in the armed forces of the United States.
Originally, this day was called Armistice Day, commemorating the signing of the agreement that ended World War I at 11:00 A.M., November 11, 1918. This federal holiday was changed to Veterans Day in 1954. There are several celebrations this fall in New York City that commemorate this event.
Many people may not know that York Avenue is named after a religious hero named Sergeant Alvin York who performed incredible deeds during World War I.
The East Side Manhattan World War I Centennial Committee notes, “York on October 8, 1918, in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, took part in an extraordinary, heroic firefight, and single-handedly went behind the German lines, killed twenty-nine Germans and captured 132 prisoners, along with disabling 32 machine guns, earning him a Medal of Honor. York was feted in New York City ten years after peace was declared, being welcomed on the steps of City Hall by then-Mayor Jimmy Walker, with a crowd of over 3,000 in City Hall Park, including policemen who had been in York’s regiment. While in N ew York, he was the guest of honor at a memorial concert in Carnegie Hall on the eve of Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) – see WWI New York, by Kevin Fitzpatrick). At the same time, York Avenue was named in honor of Sgt Alvin York, changing its name from Avenue A.”
York did not enter into war lightly. In his early days, he was a hot-tempered troublemaker in the hills of Tennessee. However, he experienced a re-birth in Jesus with the help of the The Churches of Christ in Christian Union. This small Southern denomination had formed in protest against slavery and opposed the Confederacy’s fight against the United States. As a result, the church leaned toward pacifism. York was reluctant to answer the draft’s call to war and conferred with his pastor about what to do.
Deeply troubled, he spoke at length with his battalion commander, a devout Christian himself. York’s leader went over the Biblical passages that allowed violence in a just cause. He went back home to confer with his pastor and family and came back to join the 82nd Airborne Division convinced that God had called him to some great duty on behalf of his country. In his diary, he recounts that he did not fear death as he had God’s assurance. Such certainty and his excellent shooting made York singularly effective in silencing a German machine gun emplacement.
York’s denomination has one large church in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the Miller Evangelical Church Christian Union. In addition to regular services at 10am on Sunday, the congregation comes together every Tuesday on a Prayer Line conference call (641-715-3580 ID#301.787.810).
1918 United War Work Campaign poster by George M. Richards. Source: Library of Congress
Source: Library of Congress
Share–Jewish Relief Campaign / Burke, Johnstone Studios ; lithographed by Sackett & Wilhelms Corporation, Brooklyn, N.Y. United States, 1917. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002708880/.
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