CONCENTRATIONworth living for the poor and oppressed; to overcome the
"beast" pictured in the Scriptures; and to make the world
free for the development of Christian ideals and Christian
manhood and womanhood. It was a fight between the hosts
of righteousness and the hordes of Satan. The devil was trying
to conquer the world through his chosen agents, the Kaiser
and his generals.
York's eyes blazed with a fierce light. His big hands closed
like a vise. His strong jaws snapped. "The Kaiser;' he hissed
between his teeth. "The beast! The destroyer of women and
children! I'll show him where he belongs if I ever get within
gunshot of him!"
He caressed his rifle, kissed his mother good-by, and told
her he would see her again when the Kaiser had been put out
of business. He went to the training camp and drilled with
scrupulous care and strict obedience to orders.
His skill at target practice attracted attention. His com-
rades were puzzled at his high scores. They had not reckoned
that a backwoods squirrel hunter would make fine material
for a sniper in the front-line trenches.
York's part in the war is now history. General Pershing
has designated him as the foremost individual hero of the
war. He won every decoration, including the Congressional
Medal, the Croix de Guerre, the Legion of Honor. He faced
the Germans without fear of death. He was fighting to
vindicate his religion, for the sanctity of the home; the love
of women and children; the preservation of the ideal of
Christianity and the liberties of the poor and oppressed.
Fear was not in his code or his vocabulary. His cool
daring electrified more than a million men and set the world
to talking about this strange, unlettered hero from the hills
of Tennessee.
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