"One of those Kentuckians who would serve and later become the only black Soldier from Anderson County to die in the First World War was John Ray Carter. John Ray's two brothers, Sam and Ira would also serve in the war. Sam with the 167th and Ira with the 801st Pioneer Infantry Regiment.

"On June 20, 1918, John Ray was inducted into the Army at Anderson County. He was sent to Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville, where he received his initial military training with the 64th Company, 16th Battalion, of the 159th Depot Brigade. On July 16, 1918, he was transferred to Company A, 801st Pioneer Infantry, and ready to be sent overseas. By mid-August he was in France and immediately transferred to the 369th Infantry... ". . . It is difficult to say when or how Private Carter died; officially his cause of death is listed as accidental/not shown. His date of death is listed as on or about October 16, 1918, however his service record indicates that he was transferred to Company B, on October 17, 1918, and there is a letter, written by Private Carter to his father which has the date of October 22, 1918.

"Following is John Ray's final letter home to his father. It arrived in the mail the day after the family had been notified of his death... ". . . Initially the body of Private Carter was buried in a small church yard in France. In the 1920's during the efforts by the Allied Governments to recover the remains of their soldiers, Carter's body was located and his family was notified. The family requested that John Ray be returned home. On December 20, 1921, the body of John Ray Carter was buried in Woodlawn Hills Cemetery in Anderson County, Kentucky. He was buried beneath a persimmon tree growing in the cemetery.

"Over time John Ray Carter's sacrifice in the world to end all wars was forgotten. Eventually the local American Legion Post had a monument constructed on the courthouse lawn honoring the county's war casualties, the bronze table on which John Ray's name is cast appears as John Roy Carter.

"In 1997, it was learned by a group of local citizens that John Ray Carter, a soldier of the Great War, was buried in an unmarked grave. The old persimmon tree that had once marked his grave had long since died and rotted away, leaving no trace or indication that an American soldier was buried there. Additionally it was determined that the medals he had earned had not been awarded. Efforts were immediately begun to correct these oversights and by June 1998, the grave of Private Carter was marked with a veteran's headstone and the medals he had earned were formally presented to his family.