Photo by Mark H. Stowers
Hundreds of family members, fellow servicemen, first responders and citizens gathered in Itta Bena last weekend to dedicate a monument to the lives of 15 Marines and one Navy Corpsman who died in a military KC-130T plane crash last July.
The 16 men perished in a soybean field along the Leflore and Sunflower County line.
Over the past 12 months, locals from surrounding communities, as well as state leaders have worked tirelessly to make sure these lives are never forgotten.
The YANKY 72 Monument, which is located across U.S. 82 from the main campus of Mississippi Valley State University, is now complete.
Last Saturday’s event, which featured Gov. Phil Bryant, U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and scores of military brass, served as closure for the families of these victims.
During his address to the audience at H.G. Carpenter Auditorium at MVSU, Bryant remarked that many of these men were close to his own children’s ages.
“How heartbreaking it must be for a parent who has lost a child in such tragic circumstances,” Bryant said. “I realized that had been the way since the very founding of this nation. The men and now women, whether they took the muskets down from above the fireplace, or whether they are in a C-130, they go off to defend liberty and freedom here and abroad.”
Bryant, the son of a Navy Seabee who fought in World War II, said that his father’s generation would have been proud of those who died on July 12, 2017.
“I can tell you without hesitation today this is a great generation today,” Bryant said. “These Marines and Corpsman would have stood side-by-side with that generation and went into the breach to save the world from dictators. My father’s generation would have been proud of YANKY 72.”
Mississippi native and Sgt. Major Ronald L. Green delivered the keynote at the monument dedication itself, which took place on a day much like the one 12 months ago.
Temperatures rose to the upper 90s by the time the plane had crashed in the soybean field that fateful afternoon. It felt more like 120 degrees to the first responders and personnel in charge of the recovery.
“We brought them all home,” Green said.
Green recalled how he felt when he heard the plane had crashed in his home state.
“There was no doubt Mississippi, we were going to show America what right looks like, and that’s what we’ve done,” he said.
The day did not end with the monument dedication.
The Marine Raider Memorial March, over two dozen former Marines and widows of Marine 2nd Raider Battalion, set out on a 900-mile ruck - with rucksacks filled with dirt and sand from the crash site - that is set to end on July 27 in Camp LeJeune, N.C.
It’s their way of bringing the crew of YANKY 72 home.
At the end of the ruck, the group plans to plant a tree at Marine Corps Special Operations Command, using the soil from the Delta crash site, the Associated Press reported.
The YANKY 72 Monument is one of a couple of landmarks that have been erected over the past year to honor the fallen.
The Moorhead Garden Club worked to bring multiple reminders to the city of Moorhead last year, including its bricks that were carved for each military member who lost his life that day.
The E-T will have much more coverage on this monument and a commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the plane crash in its annual Salute to First Responders in next week’s edition.
