Wiley Pierce, born Jan. 10, 1882, and Robert Wesley Crain, born Aug. 16, 1886, were native sons of Washington Parish who were described as true and loyal citizens and officers of the law. On March 3, 1923, both were murdered while performing a dangerous duty, foully shot to death and their bodies brutally tramped into the mud of Betsy's Creek Swamp by illicit distillers of moonshine whiskey. Their deaths were presented as a sacrifice for the welfare of the country, and the people of Washington Parish, Louisiana, were praised for maintaining and upholding the supremacy and majesty of the law amid trying circumstances, with renewed dedication to faith in God, respect for constituted authority, allegiance to the government, and enforcement of the law of the land.