Around 1919, the Kansas State Historical Society and the American Legion solicited biographical information from returning veterans (primarily members of the 35th and 89th infantry divisions) and the families of those who died in service, notably from the Gold Star Mothers. Each veteran or family member was asked to provide letters, photographs, a biography, and military records. This file contains information on Charles Dee Seward. Charles died in France from an airplane crash on April 6, 1918. He was the first man from Neodesha to lose his life in WW I and reportedly the first Kansan to die in the war. The Seward-Ayars Post of the American Legion in Neodesha was named in his honor.