Charles Dee “Buck” Seward, the oldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Seward, was born in Wentworth, Mo., on Aug. 29, 1894. He came to Neodesha, Kansas in 1905 where he attended public schools and graduated from High School. He was a Junior at the University of Kansas when the US went into the war and he left school to enter the First Officers Training Camp at Ft. Riley, Kansas. He was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Aviation corps and was sent to Toronto, Canada for instruction with the Royal Flying Corps.

Lt. Seward lost his life in an airplane accident in France on April 6, 1918. His machine crashed to the ground after a tailspin and Lt. Seward was instantly killed. He was the first man from Neodesha to lose his life in the world war and the first Kansan to die in France. His body was returned from France to Neodesha, on Jan. 30, 1922. The Seward-Ayars Post of the American Legion of Neodesha is named in his honor.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com