Evansville Courier cartoonist Karl Kae Knecht’s illustration promoting the newspaper’s campaign to build a home for Alice Gresham Dodd in memory of her son, Corporal James Bethel Gresham, following the war; c. 1920 (Knecht Collection)

James Bethel Gresham’s mother after her son’s death; c. 1919 (Knecht 538)

Alice Gresham Dodd (center) marching in a war rally; c. 1918 (Knecht 571)

The log cabin in McLean County, Kentucky, where James Bethel Gresham was born on August 23, 1893 (Knecht 1020)

Mourners at the burial service of James Bethel Gresham; the woman in black (near center) is his mother, Alice Gresham Dodd; July 1921 (Knecht 3367)

A crowd watches as military personnel carry James Bethel Gresham’s remains into the Coliseum on July 15, 1921 (Knecht 387)

Mourners gather at the home of Alice Gresham Dodd, which was located on Wedeking Ave. adjacent to Garvin Park; photo dated 1921 (Knecht 530)

Upper image shows Gresham’s body lying-in-state at the Coliseum after it’s return to Evansville in July 1921; the other image shows sailors bearing his remains up the steps into the building (Knecht 537)

Soldiers firing a salute to Corporal James Bethel Gresham during burial ceremonies at Locust Hill Cemetery in July 1921 (Knecht 567)

The coffin of Corporal James Bethel Gresham in transport from a hearse to his gravesite at Locust Hill Cemetery; July 1921 (Knecht 1012)

The coffin of Corporal James Bethel Gresham during burial ceremonies at Locust Hill Cemetery; July 1921 (Knecht 1013)

Mourners at the gravesite service for Corporal James Bethel Gresham at Locust Hill Cemetery in July 1921 (Knecht 3356)

Mourners at the burial service of Corporal James Bethel Gresham in Locust Hill Cemetery; July 1921 (Knecht 3358)

Close view of the olive jar marking the grave of Corporal James Bethel Gresham at Locust Hill Cemetery; c. 1921 (Knecht 3365)

Veterans standing next to Corporal James Bethel Gresham’s grave at Locust Hill Cemetery, probably during a Veterans Day ceremony; dated 1938 (Newman 38-4-3)

Evansville Mayor William Dress (left), with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and U. S. Congressman John W. Boehne, Jr., visit the grave of James Bethel Gresham in Locust Hill Cemetery in 1937 (Monte Katterjohn Collection)

The original burial site of Corporal James Bethel Gresham in France; c. 1918 (Knecht 535)

Note left at the grave of James Bethel Gresham in Locust Hill Cemetery in the absence of a permanent tombstone (Knecht 2015)

Group standing next to the grave of Corporal James Bethel Gresham in Locust Hill Cemetery in July 1921 (Knecht 1016)

The unmarked grave (foreground) of Corporal James Bethel Gresham soon after his burial in Locust Hill Cemetery in July 1921; at left is a glass olive jar placed there by his mother containing his name, birth and death dates (Knecht 1875)

James Bethel Gresham’s grave at Locust Hill Cemetery, marked only by an olive jar placed there by his mother; c. 1921 (Knecht 1010)

James Bethel Gresham’s mother and step-father with visitor Paul Grosjean (center) at their home in the early 1920s (Knecht 531)

The residence built for James Bethel Gresham’s mother after his death in the war; it is located at 2 Wedeking Ave., adjacent to the northeastern section of Garvin Park. The photo was taken c. 1920 (Knecht 53)

Crowds, including soldiers, gather at the residence of Alice Gresham Dodd, probably after the burial of her son at Locust Hill Cemetery in July 1921 (Knecht 530)

Architect Edwin Berendes’ design for a proposed monument in memory of James Bethel Gresham of Evansville, one of the first American soldiers to die in the war; no memorial was ever built (Knecht 369)

Proposed memorial to James Bethel Gresham, one of the first American soldiers to die in the war; the memorial was never built (Knecht 395)

Evansville soldier who was regarded as the first American casualty of World War I; he died on November 3, 1917 (Knecht 534)

Images of Gresham as a civilian and a soldier (Knecht 532)

Plaque made in memory of James Bethel Gresham after his death in France on November 3, 1917; compliments of Blount Plow Works of Evansville (Knecht 539)

Corporal James Bethel Gresham in his military uniform; c. 1917 (Knecht 533)

James Bethel Gresham in civilian clothes; c. 1915 (Knecht 1918)

James Bethel Gresham in civilian clothes; c. 1915 (Knecht 2405)

Evansville Courier editorial cartoonist Karl Kae Knecht’s illustration commemorating Corporal James Bethel Gresham, along with the other two men who died in the war on the same day, as the base “for world democracy;” c. 1918 (Knecht Collection)