When Ernest Franklin Strauser was born on August 30, 1886, his father, Philip, was 28 and his mother, Martha, was 24. He entered training as a soldier at Camp Taylor, Ky., on September 19, 1917 and was transferred from there in a few weeks to Camp Shelby, Miss., where he remained until June, 1918, after which time he sailed for France. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I as a Private in Company H, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. He was killed in action in the Battle of Argonne in France on October 4, 1918 at the age of 23. He is now buried in Flynn Cemetery, Bloomfield, Greene County, Indiana, USA.