James R. Marshall was born in 1902 in Kentucky to parents Harry J. Marshall and Edith Cox Marshall. He had one sister and one brother.

While a junior at Louisville Boys’ High School, where he served as a sergeant in the Cadet Corps, Marshall enlisted as a Private in the 1st Kentucky Infantry Regiment on May 12, 1917, in Louisville, at the age of 16. This unit was later redesignated as Battery A, 138th Field Artillery Battalion, part of the 38th Infantry Division, and trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Marshall was promoted to Private First Class on January 1, 1918. He was selected to join the Advance School Detachment of the 38th Division and sailed to Europe aboard the Aquitania from Hoboken, New Jersey, on October 2, 1918. Unfortunately, during the voyage, he contracted influenza, which developed into pneumonia, leading to his death on October 13, 1918, in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, just three days after his arrival.

Initially buried in Magdalen Cemetery, Winchester, England, his remains were repatriated to the United States in May 1920 and interred with honors at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky.

Marshall’s passing was one of the earliest and most publicized losses among Kentucky Guardsmen during World War I. The Louisville community honored him as a local hero, with his tentmates from Camp Shelby serving as pallbearers at his burial. Private First Class Marshall is buried in the Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, KY.

His name is included on the Kentucky National Guard Memorial, ensuring that his service and sacrifice are remembered. Marshall’s life and service exemplify the courage and commitment of the “Fighting First,” the historic 1st Kentucky Infantry Regiment, and continue to inspire future generations.

Pneumonia Fatal to Kentuckian Overseas

James R. Marshall, with Fighting 1st in England, Died on October 13.

James R. Marshall, 18 years old a member of the old 1st Kentucky, died of pneumonia at Portsmouth, England, on October 13, according to a telegram received from the War Department by his father, Harry J. Marshall. . .

At the time of his death Marshall was a student of the Advanced School Detachment of the 38thDivision.  He enlisted in the old 1st Regiment in May, 1917, while he was a member of the Cadet Corps at the Louisville Boys’ High School.

Besides his father, who is secretary of Kilgore & Stilz wagon manufacturers, and his mother, who was Miss Edith Cox, he is survived by a brother and a sister.[1]

Body of First Yank Arrives in Louisville

James Marshall, Who Died Overseas, Will Be Buried Tomorrow.

Accompanied by military escort the body of James R. Marshall, 18-year-old soldier who died in Portsmouth, England, October 13,1918, the first to be brought back here from Europe, arrived last night.

Young Marshall, a member of Battery A, 138th Field Artillery, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry J. Marshall.  He enlisted in the 1st Kentucky Regiment, May 12, 1917, at the age of 16.  At the time he was Sergeant in the Cadet Corps of the Louisville Boys’ High School where he was a junior.

He sailed ahead of his regiment with the advanced school detachment on the Aquitania from Hoboken, N. J., October 2, 1918.  He was taken ill of influenza and pneumonia while at sea and died three days after reaching England.

Marshall’s tent while he was in training at Camp Shelby will act as his pallbearers.

He is survived by his parents, a sister, and a brother.

. . . Burial will be in Cave Hill Cemetery.[2]

[1] The Courier-Journal, 24 Dec 1918, p. 3.

[2] The Courier-Journal, 30 May 1920, p. 1.