Folks can step back in time this Saturday with a trip to the Fentress County home of World War I hero Sergeant Alvin C. York.
The Sergeant Alvin C. York State Historic Site hosts the Great War Expo Saturday. Park Manager Nate Dodson said the goal of the event is educate folks on the global impact of World War I and York’s involvement in it. He said the story of York can’t be told without telling the story of the war.
“So for us, remembering and commemorating what’s known as the Forgotten War and it is important for us.” Dodson said. “We keep not only the story of York alive but also folks remember the Great War’s impact it had on Tennessee and Sergeant York’s life and war in general.”
Dodson said the event is held the first week of April to draw attention to the date the United States entered World War I.
“The Great War Expo was born out of the idea to commemorate the beginning of the war,” Dodson said. “The event in November around Veterans Day signifies the conclusion, or the end of the war. So it, sort of bookends our events with one in April and one in November.”
Dodson said the first World War does not receive as much attention as the Civil War or World War II. He said he believes it comes from the fact the United States was involved for 19 months. Dodson said the park is trying to change that with events like the Great War Expo.
“Just looking at what the war did globally and how it changed the world after that it’s important to us,” Dodson said. “We’re honored to be a Tennessee state park in rural area like Fentress Couny that we can talk about those thing that have a national and international connection.”
The Great War Expo will include lectures, a questions and answer session with experts, displays, a replica of a trench and much more. The event is from 9am to 5pm and it is free.
