James Bethel Gresham, the first American killed in action in World War I, was born at Beech Grove in 1893, moved to Indiana in 1901, and enlisted there in 1914. He served under Gen. Pershing on the Mexican border in 1916, was sent overseas on June 14, 1917, and as Pfc. Gresham was killed on Nov. 3, 1917, in the battle of Sommerviller, Lorraine. The French honored him with a monument there, he was buried in Indiana, and a Silver Star citation followed in Jan. 1920.