James Bethel Gresham, First American to be Killed Fighting as a Member of the U.S. Forces on Battle Fields in France

130,670 Hoosiers served in the militaryduring WW I. More than 3,000 of these did not return home. Most deaths resulted from diseases such as influenza and pneumonia. James Gresham of Evansville, coporal in the 16th Infantry is recognized as being the first U.S. soldier to die on the battlefield in France