This was in an era that many all rural farm boys had great marksmen skills, that enabled them to preform these extraordinary feats when required while preforming their military duties.
Picture this: thirty two belt fed water cooled machine guns blazing down at you from thirty steps distant, with an occasional head bobbing up behind one gun or the other, a helmet raised perhaps four inches behind or alongside the gun - and killing them all, and forcing the remainder's surrender.
The German's were so desperate to get rid of York that seven of them charged him with bayonets. York shot them all to death with a M1911 .45 caliber pistol, shooting from the furthest to the nearest so that the Germans would not realize their doom until it was too late for them to stop running at York and instead shoot him.
The German's bullets were so thick that the heavy brush in the area was all shot off to the ground in the area York made his stand. When the ground was examined the next day after the German's retreated a German body was found for every cartridge York had fired. He had not missed once.
It is certain that the Lord was with York that day eighty three years ago, and very satisfying that the Lord will aid a good man with a clear conscience firing a good rifle.
As the end of the war neared, most German soldiers knew that Germany had no hope of winning the war. Rather than be killed, or risk being taken prisoners by the Russians, who treated prisoners with barbaric cruelty, many german soldiers were more than eager to be taken prisoners by American or British forces.
One day during the winter of 1944/1945 an American GI was out alone, hunting for food. He shot at a deer but missed. Seconds later, out of the woods streamed dozens of German soldiers, all with their arms raised. In all, somewhere around 100 German soldiers surrendered to the single American GI.
This was in an era that many all rural farm boys had great marksmen skills, that enabled them to preform these extraordinary feats when required while preforming their military duties.
I remember a WWII vet telling me that US soldiers were much better shooters than their European counterparts.
I know, liberals will make sure others die for them to make love without the sight of the gun. It's this mentality that killed millions of south vietnamese as the North massacred its way southward.
Today those disgusting perverts want to make love on top of the roting corpses of the WTC.
They are trying, but there are still plenty of good ol' boys left. My son is 11 and shoots a bolt rifle pretty well. He is, unfortunately, an oddity in his school.
The statue of York outside the Capitol Building was broken while I was there. Someone had tried to swing from the rifle and had snapped it off. I was very pleased to find out that within a very short time the statue was restored in perfect condition.
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CHILDREN AND SHOOTING
It’s interesting to hear that a few of the Hollywood mannequins and their directors were actually surprised at scenes in a new movie. But, the most interesting point was the utter hypocrisy of it all.
It was Hollywood, after all, that put out films about students shooting up high schools. Hollywood also thought that a long series of bloody slasher films were great entertainment. So too, with a couple hundred urban, suburban and country shoot ‘em ups. In fact, it wasn’t long ago that Hollywood seemed to think that the more human blood and guts splattered throughout a film the better it would do at the box office.
These violence oriented films were, of course, targeted at children and young teens. Many of them received an “R” rating, but that has seldom stopped kids from seeing them. All of the films are also played often on television.
So it was interesting to see that Matt Drudge reported: “A loud ‘gasp’ was heard in the screening room as the camera zoomed in for a closeup of the kids. Shots are fired. Blood splatters on Redcoats. … They go into woods and ambush the Redcoats, killing around 15 men. ‘One son is around 13 years old, the other is 10,’ says an insider.”
The film was the “Patriot,” of course, and the protagonist is shown taking up arms against those in authority who would confiscate personal arms. The offending part to those on the far left is when the hero reaches into a chest and gives his sons rifles. The kids then go out into the woods and ambush Redcoats, killing a few.
So, let’s examine this prevailing Hollywood mindset here: Shooting up people in high schools and slashing people to death at summer camps is fine entertainment, apparently. Protecting ones family, home and neighborhood, on the other hand, is not. Interesting!
There were a couple other shoot ‘em up films about real American heroes a few years back. Lest we forget, perhaps it is time to remember a more modern reason that children should be taught to safely use firearms accurately.
An article in the June 14, 1919 issue of “The Literary Digest,” describes a big bashful, red headed mountain boy from the village of Pall Mall, in Fortress County, Tennessee. This boy grew up where good shooting is the rule, not the exception. However, he was also from a strict religious sect, so when drafted into the Army for World War I, the young man entered as a conscientious objector.
It was said that part of the heroism of this young man was his honesty in changing his convictions when he was convinced that he was wrong. Maybe. But, on October 8, 1918, in the Argonne Forest of France, their came a time when war was all around him and his friends were dying. That was when this young conscientious objector from Tennessee, an excellent rifle and pistol shot from boyhood, blended his civilian and military training into action. As the story goes, he killed twenty or twenty- five of the German enemy, captured 132 others - including a major and three lieutenants - and put thirty-five machine guns out of action, all in very short order.
That is, of course, part of the saga of Sergeant Alvin C. York, a true American hero. Read more about Sergeant York at: http://ac.acusd.edu/History/text/ww1/sgtyork.html
A few years after Sergeant Alvin C. York returned home, a son was born to poor Texas sharecroppers, one of nine children. That put this young man in the proper age group to fight in World War II. And, herein developed another story of yet another American who learned to shoot at an early age.
By age 12, this Texas boy was already a great shot with a rifle. At that time, his family was very poor, so he quit school to work for a neighboring farmer. When the war started, the 17 year old boy enlisted.
This young man rose to national fame as the most decorated U.S. combat soldier of World War II. Among his 33 awards and decorations was the Medal of Honor, the highest military award for bravery that can be given to any individual in the United States, for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.” He also received every decoration for valor that his country had to offer, some of them more than once, including 5 decorations by France and Belgium. Credited with killing over 240 of the enemy while wounding and capturing many others, he soon became a legend within the 3rd Infantry Division.
Beginning his service as an Army Private, this young man quickly rose in the enlisted ranks to Staff Sergeant, then was given a “battlefield” commission as 2nd Lieutenant, was wounded three times, fought in 9 major campaigns across the European Theater, and survived the war.
Throughout 1944 and 1945, this man continued to stalk and kill snipers. He would not allow snipers to kill his men without revenge. As the story goes, this excellent sharpshooter “out dueled snipers with little or no fanfare.” No matter that the snipers had high powered scopes while the boy from Texas usually used a carbine.
That young man’s name was Audie Leon Murphy, of course.
On Jan 26, 1945, Audie Murphy climbed aboard a burning tank and fought off six Tiger tanks and two reinforced rifle companies, earning what is still considered today as the most famous Medal of Honor act in World War II. http://www.audiemurphy.com/news1.htm
For even more information about Audie Murphy, go to http://www.audiemurphy.com/congress1.htm, and please pay close attention to a poem by Audie Murphy at the bottom of the page. Because, as we speak of great American Patriots this coming Independence Day, that last verse says it all.
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From Heads Up: Issue #186, June 18, 2000