Clara Edith (Work) Ayres, buried at the Attica-Venice Joint Cemetery, died in the line of duty soon after the United States entered World War I in April 1917. Born in Venice Township on September 16, 1880, she graduated from Attica High School in 1899 and married local merchant Wayland Ayres in 1903; he died in 1906. She later moved to Chicago, graduated from the Illinois Training School for Nurses, and joined Red Cross Unit 12 in 1916. On May 20, 1917, while she and fellow nurse Helen Wood were sailing to Europe aboard the S.S. Mongolia to join the Allied war effort, a shell exploded prematurely during gunnery practice, and flying debris killed both women while wounding another nurse, Emma Mazen. They became the first American women to become casualties after the United States declared war, and the Mongolia immediately returned to port. Ayres’ remains were returned to Attica, where she received a funeral of high honor befitting her sacrifice at age 36.