27 December 2012:
Apollo Battlefields
Michael Kelly has been guiding in Normandy and the Great War Battlefields for fifteen years. He has taken many American tours including Cornell University (Professor Joel Silby) and Elderhostel programmes. Michael has guided Australian groups, these include the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne; the Spirit of Anzac Projects (Professor Bruce Scates) and Wollongong University, (Professor John McQuilton) He has been involved in the Sergeant York Project since inception working alongside Dr. Tom Nolan (MTSU retired) and Dr. Michael Birdwell, (Tennessee Tech) He also played a part with the Australian Fromelles recovery of the bodies of soldiers killed in 1916. Many of them were identified using DNA techniques but 131 are still awaiting the process.
Should you want to take a tour of the U.S. Battlefields from the Great War, you may prefer to do it on your own, in which case Michael's Guide Book will be invaluable to you. (Click Here)
However, if you want a tour with Michael as your guide, you should contact him on apollobattlefieldguide@gmail.com
You can read more about Michael and Apollo tours on the website: apollo-battlefield-guide.com
October 2012
NEW: Testimonial received today the 12 October 2012:
'Walking the hillside where Sgt York won his MoH, we were also able identify how he would be concealed from the located German MG position and use this to successfully engage the Germans soldiers. Overall, all of our terrain associations and ad hoc recreations, combined with your stellar documentation and archeology, conclusively proves to me the accuracy of your findings.' Click here to read the full testimonial
There will be a Sergeant York exhibit opening at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville on Remembrance Day 2012. More details will be published here.
December 2011
You may view the very latest publication from Dr. Nolan and Colonel Mastriano at this link: battleguide
It is in .pdf format and free of charge but you have to read it on-line. Both sides give their reasons and submit their evidence in their claim for identifying the different locations of York's fight.
New YouTube Videos introducing our 2010 fact-finding tour!
It has been five years since the York Project conducted their in-depth investigation in the
Argonne Forest. In 2006, evidence in the form of a U.S collar disc inscribed '328 G'
was found along with a large amount of both German and American artifacts which suggested
that there had been a large scale surrender by German troops at this point. It has been two years since the Project Team discovered the temporary graves of the 6 American soldiers killed in this action.
You can download an introduction here (PDF, 1.6MB).
The evidence gathered
from 2006 became the doctoral dissertation of Tom Nolan from MTSU. It can be viewed and
downloaded (PDF) from this link: http://ecommons.txstate.edu/geogtad/5/
During the period while this evidence was being collated and Dr. Nolan's paper written, Lieutenant-Colonel Douglas Mastriano of the Sergeant York Discovery Expedition, who believes that the site of
York's action is 500 - 600 meters from where we in the Project team believe it to be, had hastily put together
results of his investigation then having declared his findings, he convinced both French and
American authorities that he was correct.
A Memorial was inaugurated at this site on the 90th
Anniversary of the action and a trail has been laid to this Memorial.
This officer was fully aware that the York Project team were investigating at the same time, but he
preferred to proceed in his quest without consultation and in the fixated belief that he was right.
The Project Team continued. believing that York's fight was conducted on a western facing
slope in the Argonne Forest, as indeed the records suggested it was. Further examination of the
Grave Registration Services records were carried out. (These were records of burial sites of the 6
American soldiers killed in the York fight).
It was felt that a further detailed examination of the Project Team site was needed and in April 2009,
a team of professional archaeologists, scientists and historians conducted a 10 day investigation at
the site.
It was felt that if evidence of the temporary burial sites of the 6 American soldiers could be found then the case could be finally presented. The team was joined on this occasion by Brad Posey,
a retired US soldier now living in Germany. He is an accomplished metal detector operator and an
authority on German and American weaponry of this period. Brad had been a disenchanted member
of the Mastriano team before leaving them and joining the Project Team.
In the 18 months since this investigation concluded, the team has been busy. Posey has cleaned
and catalogued the many thousands of artefacts that were discovered. He has visited the German
archives and meticulously researched hundreds of documents, many of which had not seen the light
of day for many years. He, Dr. Nolan and Michael Kelly have put together a feasible and convincing
portrayal as to what may have taken place on that October 1918 morning.
The Project Team are pleased at long last to be able to present this paper. It is lengthy and we hope
that as a result of this, more people will take notice and make representation. Despite its hasty
appearance, we accept that it is hardly feasible to move a Memorial once in place, but due
recognition of an event in history should be accepted and documented and a tablet laid at the true
site. We feel that history deserves to know the truth and in the words of Dr. Tom Nolan, 'The truth
will out one day.'
In order to minimise the size of the paper, several extracts are presented separately. For instance
should one wish to read Posey's excellent section on ammunition , one should click on that pdf
document.
There is a short film which gives a brief introduction to the written paper.
To see our new YouTube videos or download the full report, click : Burial Site Discovery - April '09
Sergeant York Tour Guide now available!
Now you can retrace the steps of Sergeant York yourself with our brand new Tour Guide. Our new publication contains many maps and photographs including a map annotated by the group leader Dr. Tom Nolan of MTSU which shows where all our artefacts were discovered during the project excavations in France.
In addition are details of many other American sites of interest from WW1 together with French battle areas. As an aid to the traveler, satellite navigational points have been included together with details of hotels and restaurants. You also receive full details of free downloads now available, including Dr Tom Nolan's comprehensive dissertation on the location of Sgt. York's military endeavors, the most authoritative document available - more below.
Our exclusive Tour Guide is designed to assist the WW1 Battlefield travelers to easily find their way around the American battlefields in the Meuse-Argonne. With pictures, maps and satellite navigation points, you will be able to spend your time exploring battlefields without getting lost!
The guide contains the following important information when visiting the battlefields
Details of Recommended inexpensive, but comfortable hotels
The latest map showing where the York Project discovered the site
Road maps annotated by Dr. Nolan of M.T.S.U. which allow the traveler to get to the sites of interest
Satellite Navigation points for ease of navigation including the coordinates which will take you to:
The Site of the discovery of the German machine-gun which fired on the patrol.......
&
The Place where the Unit Collar Disc was located by the Project team.
A section of the guide is dedicated to the memory of the soldiers who were killed on 8 October 1918 and to those who are nearly always forgotten, the survivors.
This guide is an invaluable aid to the battlefield tourist who wishes to visit U.S. sites of interest in a particularly beautiful rural area of France. Buy now online - payment is accepted by Paypal and we will post the printed guide anywhere in the world.
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Sergeant Alvin C. York was born a poorly-educated Tennessee mountaineer who was to become a World War 1 national hero, decorated for his heroic deeds and acts of bravery as a soldier of Company 'G' in the 328th Infantry of the US Army.
