Picture of James F SparkmanUnited States Army

World War I, Europe

Killed In Action: February 5, 1918

Private James F. Sparkman (September 9, 1881 – February 5, 1918), U.S. Army, was headed to England in 1918 to join the fighting underway during the Great War. He was 26 years old when he died on February 5, 1918, aboard the British troopship S.S. Tuscania when it sank. It was the first ship carrying American troops to be sunk during World War I, and Private Sparkman was the first Collin County resident killed in action. Coincidentally, Frisco resident Rupert A. Davis was also on the S.S. Tuscania, but he survived.  Private Sparkman is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.