Larry Mullaly, local railroad historian, stands near the grave of Coyl Johnson, who was murdered during the Tunnel 13 robbery, during a ceremony Wednesday at Eastwood Cemetery in Medford.

Nearly two-dozen people stood on a grassy hillside Wednesday morning at Medford’s Eastwood I.O.O.F Cemetery to pay their respects to a train man who made the ultimate sacrifice during “America’s last great train robbery.”

At nearly the exact hour that Charles “Coyl” Johnson was murdered in cold blood by the outlaw DeAutremont brothers — one century removed — a moment of silence was held at the late railroad brakeman’s modest gravesite in east Medford.

Fall-colored flowers filled a simple pot placed in front of a weathered headstone with a simple engraving: Coyl A. Johnson: Oct. 12, 1886 – Oct. 11, 1923.

Nearby, the gravestones of Johnson’s two sons, who died during childhood, were marked by smaller bundles of flowers.

The four victims of the Tunnel 13 robbery near the state line at the Siskiyou Mountain Pass, were honored during the Wednesday morning service. Johnson’s story, however, was a primary focus as the lone Medford connection to the tragedy.

A handful of local and national entities collaborated to commemorate the centennial of the Tunnel 13 train robbery this week, including the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Postal Service, the Southern Oregon Historical Society and Southern Oregon University’s Laboratory of Anthropology. What ended up as four cold-blooded murders began as a robbery attempt of the Oregon-California Express, traveling that day from Portland to San Francisco.

The DeAutremont brothers — twins Roy and Ray, and younger brother Hugh — hid out in a nearby cabin to plot their crime, waiting to climb aboard Train No. 13 during a required brake check near the summit. Climbing aboard as the engine and seven cars entered the dark tunnel through the Siskiyou Pass, the brothers had planned to rob the mail car. But they used too much dynamite trying to blast open the door, inadvertently blowing up the car and killing postal clerk Elvyn Dougherty.

Standing at Johnson’s gravesite Wednesday, Southern Oregon railroad historian Larry Mullaly told those who gathered that Johnson was the unsung hero that fateful day.

Off-duty when the train was hijacked, Johnson was riding at the back of the train, headed to report for an assignment in Montague, California. He was one of five men who stepped up to help when the explosion rang out and the train rolled to a stop in the dark tunnel.

“The conductors turned lights on in the passenger cars and asked them to remain in their seats,” Mullaly said.

“And these men went to investigate what they thought was a locomotive boiler explosion.”

Fearing the flares would ignite leaking fuel, four of the men retreated back, said Mullaly, except for “rough and tumble” Johnson.

Climbing under a train car to the other side of the tracks, Johnson was the first to encounter one of the DeAutremont brothers. He was ordered to detach the mail car, but he was unable to do so without the train being pulled forward.

Mulally said Johnson found himself in the midst of chaos, “smoke and fumes swirling about, the automatic bell on the engine incessantly ringing and water gushing from the damaged locomotive tender.”

Realizing the devastation of the mail car, Johnson soon encountered the other two brothers — with sawed-off shotguns pointed at fireman Marvin Seng and railroad engineer Sid Bates. Johnson was shot at close range. Moments later, determined to leave no witnesses behind, the brothers turned their guns on Seng and Bates.

Regional and national law enforcement took nearly four years to catch the DeAutremonts, who were long gone by the time their four victims were identified. Mulally told those in attendance Wednesday that large memorials were held in Ashland and nearby Dunsmuir, for the other three men, but only a small service was held for Johnson.

“Today’s event is significant because probably the real hero of the day is buried here, and he was really unsung. He was a Medford boy,” Mulally said.

“This person, Coyl, wasn’t somebody who just happened to be there working and got shot. He was off-duty, and he was coming to rescue people from what they thought was a disaster from an exploded boiler.”

Mulally shared tidbits of Johnson’s life before and during his work for the railroad, noting, “He had never done well in life until he got to the railroad, and then he had done very well for himself.”

Medford resident Rick Bedsworth, who helps run the “HO Scale” club at the Medford Railroad Park, attended Wednesday’s graveside service at Eastwood and planned to attend an evening event at Ashland Hills Inn where a documentary on Tunnel 13 was set to air.

Bedsworth said he was fascinated by railroad history and the Tunnel 13 tragedy.

“It was really tragic in the fact that four individuals lost their lives doing something they were doing for the good of the area and the country at that time,” Bedsworth said. “It’s good they’re honoring the victims and not the robbers with today’s events.”

Finn Brake, an assistant curator for the Southern Oregon Historical Society, said he appreciated that the centennial observation paid tribute to the victims. A private wreath-laying was also held Wednesday at Tunnel 13, Brake noted.

“A lot of the events in the past have been really focused on the allure and the, kind of, glamour of the people who committed the crime. … But to really focus on the victims was important,” Brake said. “Especially since it happened here, and this man was from here, so this was such a part of local history. … In some ways, it feels like it was so long ago, but it wasn’t really all that long ago.”

At the close of Wednesday’s graveside ceremony, Brake read details from the obituaries of all four men who died 100 years ago. Railroad brakeman Charles “Coyl” Johnson, aged 37 years, 11 months and 29 days, was a railroad brakeman for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Johnson was survived by his wife, Ruby Bedford Johnson, mother, Maude Johnson, three sisters and two brothers. Johnson was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but moved to Medford as a child. The Tunnel 13 tragedy occurred the day before his 38th birthday.

Railroad engineer Sidney Lloyd Bates, age 51, began working for the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1894. A distinguished employee, Bates had been given merit awards for exceptionally good work and was a member of several railroad fraternal organizations. A native of Norwalk, Ohio, Bates lived in Dunsmuir, California, with his wife at the time of his death. Bates is buried in the Masonic plot at the Sunset View Cemetery. In his obituary in the Dunsmuir News, it was noted that Bates’ casket was “almost hidden by the flowers” sent from all around.

Mail clerk Elvyn Dougherty, 34, lived in Ashland with his wife, Blanch, and 5-year-old son Ray at the time of his death. Respected and liked by everyone, Dougherty was remembered as a handsome, serious young man. On the day of the Tunnel 13 robbery, Dougherty was not scheduled to work. He had traded his shift with another railroad worker in order to make a duck-hunting trip to Lakeview. Dougherty is buried in Reno, Nevada.

Fireman Marvin Benjamin Seng was born in Oklahoma in 1900. At the time of his death, Seng lived in Dunsmuir with his wife, Charlotte, and a young daughter. A member of Mt. Shasta Lodge #312, a brotherhood of locomotive and engine men, Seng was remembered in local news accounts at the time as “one of the most popular firemen in the city.”