For his extraordinary service in WWI, Sergeant Alvin York received the American Distinguished Service Cross and the Congressional Medal of Honor. Word of York’s distinguished service reached America before he did. Upon his return he received numerous offers to do a movie based on his battlefield heroics. York refused as long as he could. In 1941, however, the movie “Sergeant York” hit movie theaters. It starred Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, and Joan Leslie. Because York did not want to profit from killing, he insisted that all the proceeds from the movie go to religious works. More importantly, York was able to reconcile his pacifist beliefs in a time of war.