|
Joe Baldwin was on Guard train
The Korean War is often called the "forgotten war," but one local veteran will never forget an experience related to that conflict. Joe Baldwin, 16 Chestnut Ave., was 18 years old when he was one of the federalized National Guard troops on a train that left the Carbondale D&H Railroad depot on Sunday, September 10, 1950 on its way to Camp Atterbury, Indiana. Disaster struck the train when it was rammed by another train near Coshocton, Ohio, killing 33 soldiers. That tragedy was commemorated at the dedication of the Pioneer City Train Station a few weeks ago on May 21, and Joe Baldwin was there. As he watched a special Veterans Day train pull away from the newly built platform, he remembered that day in 1950 when he was on a similar train leaving the city. "It was a proud day," Joe said. "There was some sadness, but the people of Carbondale were proud. The train stopped at Burlington, N.J., and then headed west. It was early in the morning and I was sleeping, when all of a sudden there was a crash and I remember seeing the chandeliers on the ceiling of the car I was in shake. When I got outside I saw the cars in the rear of the train squashed together." Once all of the troops were off the train, the people of nearby Coshocton came to the aide of the men. "I remember the people bringing baked goods to us," Joe said. "Later, another train came and we got on and headed for Camp Atterbury. While on the train, we sent telegrams home to tell everyone we were all right." Joe spent several months at Camp Atterbury, and a few years later joined the Air Force, which he served for five and a half years until he received a medical discharge. He is a member of American Legion VFW Post 221 and the Disabled American Veterans. Years after the train accident, Joe made a return visit to Coshoction. "They put up a black marble monument there where the accident was," Joe said. "It brought back a lot of memories of the accident." |
|
|
By Thomas M. Fontana
Page last revised
06/03/2024