A Whitewright man was the first Grayson County soldier to fall in France. One hundred years ago, a Pottsboro man was tragically killed on the last day of WWI; Armistice Day, and was the last Grayson County man to be killed in WWI in 1918. Though their deaths were separated by years and by many other deaths in between them, they were laid to rest in their hometowns at almost the same time; but three years after their deaths.
The body of Charles R. Simmons, the first Grayson County soldier to fall in France, was finally laid to rest at Whitewright. The American Legion Post there was named for him and had charge over the funeral.
On November 11, 1918, Rex E. Baird, age 29, was killed in France just one hour before the armistice was signed to end World War 1. The young man was the son of former Grayson County Clerk W. E. Baird. Rex was a private in Company C. 356th Infantry, 89th Division.
Even though he was killed in 1918, his body did not arrive back home until 2 ½ years later. His body was shipped from France to New York and then arrived by train at Pottsboro. His father came to the depot to escort his body from the train.
Born in Sherman, Baird spent most of his life around Pottsboro and was well known and respected by the community. People came from far and near to honor the fallen hero. Before the service, Rex’s body was taken to the Baird homestead one half mile north of Pottsboro. While the crowd waited for the funeral at the church, the legion detachment marched to the Baird home and escorted the body to the church. One hundred or more of his “buddies” which were members of the American Legion, in khaki and blue, formed an escort, firing squad and color guard, and as they snapped to rigid attention as the casket was borne from hearse to church, that which they embodied was brought home to those who can never know the real meaning of war. Devotion to duty. The Fred W. Wilson post of the American Legion had charge of the military aspects of the funeral. Burr Weaver, commander of the Denison post, was in charge of the detail, with Harry Glidden, former cavalry lieutenant, in charge of the color guard, and Walter Cox, former lieutenant of signal corps and Alexander Reynolds, formerly a corporal in charge of the escort. A detachment of former soldiers from Pottsboro were pall bearers and were all boyhood friends of Rex Baird. They were Bill Atwell, Hubert Atwell, Claud Fontain, John Morrison, J. B. Dickey, Joe Wilson, Henry Langston and C. E. Alexander.

On Sunday, April 10, 1921, the friends and family of the doughboy, Rex Baird, were finally able to pay their respects to him at his funeral at the Methodist Church in Pottsboro. It was said that Pottsboro had never seen such a funeral before. So dense was the crowd which sought entrance into the church that it was necessary to hold the services in the open, the minister speaking from the porch of the building to an assembly of over 2,500 people. The flag draped casket stood in front of the porch in a place of honor. The crowd was even bigger at the Georgetown cemetery, where he was laid to rest. At the grave three volleys were fired and a bugler sounded taps.
Rev. C. W. Heron of Waples Memorial Church read the eulogy over the body. In closing, the orator brought audible sobs from his listeners and tears were in every eye. “The missile which struck down Rex in the battlefields of France as he was overseas fighting for freedom and honor; to our soldiers and sailors we must pay tribute. You have come to put away the body of a comrade.
As your devotion to duty and comradeship stood out above the glare of war, they still predominate in peace. God from this altar and lead the world to the peace and justice you fought for, suffered for and died for. The glory of a community is not
in its banks, its broad fields and lowing herds. The glory of a community is in the lives of men like this Texas doughboy. Sleep, Rex Baird.”
The words spoken over this gallant soldier are just as true today 100 years later as they were then.