Then the German commander offered to surrender, and Corporal York and
his seven American privates escorted one hundred and thirty-two German
prisoners back to the American lines. About forty of these were added
to the original number by the capture of another German machine-gun
nest on the way back.

Corporal York showed the extreme modesty which is characteristic of
very brave men, in not mentioning his exploit when he reached his own
battalion headquarters. The prisoners had been delivered at another,
and it was only by accident that York's superior officers learned of it
later.

When Sergeant York returned to America, he was received with great
pride by the Tennessee Society of New York City, and was granted his
first wish to talk over the long-distance telephone with his old mother
in Tennessee. He was taken to see the New York Stock Exchange where
business was suspended for half an hour while the members cheered him.
Thousands of persons on the streets recognized him and crowded around
the automobile in which he rode so that the police had to clear a path
for the car.

At the banquet given in his honor at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel,
generals, admirals, noted bankers, and members of Congress united in
his praise. During the dinner, Sergeant York was unanimously elected
an honorary life-member of the Tennessee Society.

From New York, he went to Washington, where he was similarly received
because of these and other acts of heroism which distinguish him as one
of the great soldiers of the World War. After being honorably
discharged, he returned to the Tennessee Mountains to marry the girl
who had been waiting for him to return from the war. The wedding which
took place in a humble mountain home was attended by thousands of
people from all over the state. The Governor of Tennessee, a former
judge of the district, performed the ceremony, after which York and his
bride were his guests at the Executive Mansion in Nashville, where a
public reception was given in his honor.

Through these tributes to Sergeant York the people of the United States
attempted to show their true appreciation and admiration of the courage
and fortitude of the non-commissioned officer.

PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY

[Transcriber's note: Because of the quantity of Unicode characters in
these four pages, it was decided to just display them as images. Also,
some of the "characters" on these pages are composite, e.g. the
double-oh