James Bethel Gresham, the son of Green Gresham and Alice Dodd; born August 23, 1893, in Beech Grove, KY was the first American killed in action during World War1. Grisham moved to Evansville, Indiana in 1901. He enlisted in U.S. Regular Army, April 23, 1914 at Evansville, IN. Sent to Jefferson Barracks, MO. Assigned to Company F, 16th Infantry. Gresham saw service on the Mexican Border. He embarked for Europe June 14, 1917.
During the early morning of November 3, 1917, a German battalion attacked a group of Americans who were in trenches on a muddy battlefield near Artois, France. Three men were killed, one of them Corporal James Bethel Gresham of Evansville. They were the first Americans killed in the World War. Of the three, Gresham was said to have died first, making him the first American soldier killed in the World War. Gresham was first buried in France at Bathelemont-les-Bauzemont, but in July 1921 his body was returned to Evansville and buried in Locust Hill Cemetery.