In the early morning of September 11, 1950, Pennsylvania National Guard Troop Train #4, disabled three-quarters of a mile east of the site, was struck from the rear by the passenger train Spirit of St. Louis, killing 33 soldiers. Commanded by LTC Townend, the troop train was carrying members of the 109th Field Artillery Battalion from Wilkes-Barre to Camp Atterbury before deployment to Germany during the Korean Conflict. Radio station WTNS in Coshocton and news director John R. Terry broadcast a live radio-telephone hookup to a radio station in Wilkes-Barre, and citizens of West Lafayette, Coshocton, and surrounding areas joined the rescue effort.