The 1918 flu was first observed in Kansas.
I recall reading somewhere, that the 1918 influenza was preceded by a less deadly flu in the spring of 1918, and some think it may have mutated into the deadlier one that killed so many people later that year.
My great-grandfather died in the epidemic. Came through the war without a scratch, in his early 20’s, came home, took sick one day in October and died the very next day.