Joseph William Guyton (June 10, 1889 – May 24, 1918) was the first American soldier killed on German-held soil during World War I. Private Guyton was from the small town of Evart, Michigan. Life Guyton was born in Evart Township, Michigan. He attended a rural school in the area for only a short time before leaving to work in the oil fields of Ohio. He also worked as a farmer, plumber and well driller. In December 1909, Joseph Guyton married Winona Baker (died 1918) from Lake City, Michigan. Their only child, Olive Clara Guyton, was born in 1911 and died in 1922. In 1917, after the U.S. entered World War I, Guyton joined the 126th Infantry Regiment and was attached to the 32nd Infantry Division (the "Red Arrow Division") at Camp MacArthur near Waco, Texas. On February 17, 1918, Private Guyton sailed with his comrades out of New York harbor bound for France. On May 15, 1918, the status of his unit was changed from replacement division to combat. Death At around midnight on May 24, Guyton became the first casualty. He was an automatic gunner on a post near the line of resistance. His instructions were to fire his gun intermittently. He was discharging his duties when the Germans returned a barrage of machine gun fire; Guyton was struck in the temple and died instantly. The Commanding General of the 9th French Infantry Division, to which the 126th was attached, issued the following orders on the 25 May:Divisional Order No. 297 General Gamelin, commanding the 9th Infantry Division, cites in the Divisional Order: "The soldier, Joseph W. Guyton, of the 126th American Infantry Regiment, 'on guard in the first line was killed by a machine gun bullet. He is the first soldier of the 32nd American Division to fall fighting for the cause of right and liberty on Alsacian soil, beside his French comrades." General Pershing lists Guyton as killed in action on May 24, 1918, in the Gildwilder Sector in Alsace the day after the unit entered the line of battle. He was temporarily buried in a nearby church yard on foreign soil. He was posthumously awarded the croix de guerre (the grand cross of honor) by the government of France. In memory In May 1921, President Warren G. Harding placed a presidential wreath on the flag-draped coffin of Private Guyton at a funeral ceremony for over 5,000