Sargent York - 1941

[Enfield58]

At the risk of thread drift I’d like to beg everyone’s indulgence to give honorable mention to the swivel breech rifle carried by Gary Cooper in “Unconquered.”

Paulette Goddard looks better at holding a rifle than Gary Cooper.

 

[Crow-Feather]

It has been a couple of decades since I watched this great movie.
The percussion long guns used in the movie were fantastic. Several of them that were shown in detail had beautiful curly maple stocks and one of then used by the younger York brother had an elaborate patchbox on it. One thing I noted though, almost every one of then had an overlength ramrod, extending 4" or more from the muzzle.
The fireplace scene at the 'shootin' contest where the old guy was casting balls was spot on.
I also noted the caliper used to measure the hits on the target. My grandfather had several pair of that exact caliper hanging on his work bench.
Great movie with lots of muzzleloaders and lots of WW1 weapons shown.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Audie Murphy? You mean the actor? - who is also virtually unknown to the younger generations!

He means Audie Murphy , one of the most decorated US soldier of WWII who was also later an actor .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy

 

[SamTex1949]

Here is an interesting photo taken out of the "The Muzzle loading Rifle, then and now: by Walter Cline, 1942.
Plate 50 has a group photo of a some shooters at a match along with Mr York himself ! He is in center of the group. Cline mentions about him attending some "shoots" going on back then !

 

[Atticus69]

Its interesting to read about service during WWII. Just about everyone not qualified for active combat service were involved in some way. Former Heavyweight Champions Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney were commissioned in the Navy and taught Physical Fitness. Tunney had previously served as a Marine. Actor Robert Stack was already an accomplished skeet champion. He was commissioned into the Navy and taught aerial gunnery. And he convinced many of his skeet shooting friends to do the same.

W.D. Jones, who periodically rode with Bonnie and Clyde was doing a prison term in Texas. He wrote the War Department and offered his services to the Army as he felt they could "use a man skilled with the BAR." They were going to let him enlist until they discovered a bullet and fragments still in his chest and he failed the physical.

My own Grandfather, too old and too many kids to enlist, inspected 1911A1 pistols for Remington-Rand.

I have been retired now longer than I was in, but I would still offer my services if needed. I would most likely fail the physical at 61, but I know I could recruit or instruct, freeing up a young guy to go to sea.

I just wish we could remember that we are Americans first, last, and always and find a way to break this political and racial division and anger among us. Our country is worth the work it takes to maintain our liberties and freedom. I fear the future and the direction that we are headed.

Everybody seemed to love their country then. My Grandpa, a USMC vet in the Phillipine Insurrection and WW1 Army tried to reenlist for WW2 and was turned down due to age. He was used by the Ohio Military Reserve (state militia) as a guard for military installations. Other notables who served were Jimmy Stewart, who flew combat missions as a bomber pilot and eventually became a brig. general, Clark Gable who flew combat missions as a waist gunner in B17's; Charles Durning (sheriff in Best Little Whore House in Texas) who as a Marine hit the beaches in the Pacific; Tyrone Power flew supply and troop transpots; Ronald Reagan was much to his dismay found unfit for combat and used by the army to produce training films. The list goes on and on and includes not only famous actors but athletes in their prime who enlisted at the risk of never regaining their careers. I don't think you would see that happen today in Hollyweird or with our pampered, self-absorbed athletes of today.

 

[Artificer]

I read somewhere that this movie was released at about the same time WWII was just getting off the ground, for America anyway. It was about WWI but it sparked just the right amount of Patriotism to really help with enlistment.Oh, The real Alvin York wouldn't sell the movie rights unless Gary Cooper portrayed him. He must have been a fan!

Yes it did spark patriotism because SO many WWI Veterans were HIGHLY against us getting involved against Germany again, before Pearl Harbor.

My own Maternal Grandpa served in the Artillery in France in WWI and fought in seven or eight major battles and was gassed a number of times. He went into the war as a Private and came out that way. Even so, he wound up as the Commander of our local VFW in the mid/late 1930's. In that role he and most other Vets strongly believed Europe screwed things up again after they had supposedly won "The War to End All Wars." Those veterans were against sending their sons into another war they believed would once again be screwed up during the Peace, afterwards.

However, once we were attacked at Pearl Harbor, that changed everything for most WWI Vets and they had to grudgingly admit we had to once more get involved. This movie being from their generation, helped to win many of them over to that point.

Gus

 

[Atticus69]

Yes it did spark patriotism because SO many WWI Veterans were HIGHLY against us getting involved against Germany again, before Pearl Harbor.

My own Maternal Grandpa served in the Artillery in France in WWI and fought in seven or eight major battles and was gassed a number of times. He went into the war as a Private and came out that way. Even so, he wound up as the Commander of our local VFW in the mid/late 1930's. In that role he and most other Vets strongly believed Europe screwed things up again after they had supposedly won "The War to End All Wars." Those veterans were against sending their sons into another war they believed would once again be screwed up during the Peace, afterwards.

However, once we were attacked at Pearl Harbor, that changed everything for most WWI Vets and they had to grudgingly admit we had to once more get involved. This movie being from their generation, helped to win many of them over to that point.

Gus

My Grandpa was in the 42nd machine gun battalion in France in WW1 and think his thoughts were as you describe until Pearl---then he tried to reenlist.