On his early life there is this documentation posted:
"Alvin Collum York was born to an impoverished farming family in Tennessee on December 13, 1887, the third of eleven children.[1] Up until a few years before the war, York was hard drinking and prone to fighting in saloons. His mother, a member of a pacifist Christian denomination, tried to convince York to change his ways to no avail. However, during a night of heavy drinking when he and a friend got into a fight with other saloon patrons, York's friend was killed. The event shook York so much that he finally followed his mother and became a Christian, no longer fighting or drinking. On June 5, 1917, at the age of 29, Alvin York received a notice to register for the draft. From that day until he arrived back from the War on May 29, 1919, he kept a diary of his activities.[2] There is some controversy on whether he was an official conscientious objector. Most people agreed that York was a pacifist after the death of his friend, but whether he was an official conscientious objector for draft is debatable. According to documentation, York applied to be a conscientious objector for the draft but was never approved. Whether this is because York withdrew the application or there was simply not enough time is not entirely clear."
However, this so called controversy on him being a consciencous objector is clearly refuted simply by looking at his original registration card that clearly states "don't want to fight".
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...tionforwar.jpg
So to sum it up I would say that Sergeant York just may be the most accurate movie ever made on a person's life. The only detail that I know of from the movie that was not accurate is that he was not struck by a bolt of Lighting that caused his conversion. He stated that his conversion to Christianity was a more gradual process brought on from conversations with Gracie, but for the sake of time of a 2 hour plus movie they added that quicker scene into it.