James Bethel Gresham

James Bethel Gresham (August 23, 1893 – November 3, 1917) was an American soldier who was the first Hoosier serviceman, and perhaps the first American serviceman to die in combat while assigned to an American unit, World War I, along with Private Merle Hay of Glidden, Iowa and Private Thomas Enright of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Early life James Gresham was born on August 23, 1893, in McLean County, Kentucky. In September 1901, his family moved to Evansville, Indiana, where he attended the Centennial School and he later worked in local furniture factories.