James Richard Ward was born on Sept. 10, 1921 in Springfield, Ohio, and was the first man from Clark County to die in World War II.

In 1940, at the age of 19, James enlisted in the Navy. He was stationed in Pearl Harbor aboard the USS Oklahoma. As a member of the Navy baseball team, he was the batting champ of the Pacific fleet!

On Dec. 7, 1941, during the bombing of Pearl Harbor, James helped rescue 18 fellow crewmen, before dying trapped below deck. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Today, the following bear his name: a Navy Destroyer, the naval training center at Farragut, Idaho, a Honolulu athletic field, and a Springfield American Legion Post.

Though he died at sea, James is memorialized at Ferncliffs WWII Mound.