Donna Gregory’s Extraordinary People: Remembering a fallen Marine and finding strength after loss

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Memorial Day is a time to honor the men and women who died while serving the country. For Pender County resident Destiny Flynn-Draher, it is also a deeply personal reminder of love, loss and resilience.

Flynn-Draher’s late husband, Staff Sgt. Liam Flynn, was one of seven Marines killed in a Blackhawk helicopter crash during a training exercise off the Florida coast in March 2015.

11 years later, she continues to honor his memory while raising the couple’s daughter, Leilani, and helping others who have faced similar loss.

Sitting near the USS North Carolina in downtown Wilmington, Flynn-Draher reflected on the man she says changed her life. Flynn, an Irish immigrant, became an American citizen aboard the battleship.

“It’s just nice to know that was a place where he was at,” she said.

The couple met in 2012 at a coffee shop while both were serving in the military. Flynn-Draher served in the U.S. Army, while Flynn served in the Marines.

“I think the most beautiful thing about Liam was how he accepted people and how kind he was,” she said. “He’s somebody that leaves people better.”

The two married within a year and later welcomed a daughter together.

But everything changed in March 2015.

“Even within that five minutes, it already felt like a lifetime,” Flynn-Draher said while recalling the moments after learning about the crash. “You’re trying to wrap your head logically, but I’m a woman emotionally, and there’s a baby involved.”

Just days after Flynn’s funeral, the couple’s daughter celebrated her first birthday.

Flynn-Draher said the support she received from loved ones helped carry her through the darkest moments of her life.

“I was so lucky that I had so many people around me that truly loved me and truly loved him,” she said. “They extended that love to my daughter.”

Now 12 years old, Leilani continues to remind Flynn-Draher of her late husband, from her personality to her love of soccer.

“She is a spitting image of him,” Flynn-Draher said. “Her eyes are all him.”

Over the years, Flynn-Draher says she has found healing by reconnecting with organizations and communities that supported her after Liam’s death.

“I just felt like I could give my time to some of those organizations and be there for the next wife,” she said.

Flynn-Draher has since remarried, expanded her family, run races in Flynn’s memory and started writing a book about her experiences.

“We still honor him and we celebrate him, and we do it as a family collectively,” she said. “I am very blessed in that sense that my daughter’s always connected to her dad.”

She says Memorial Day carries a different meaning for families like hers.

“There is somebody who gave their life for that moment of freedom for you,” Flynn-Draher said. “I just hope that people take a second to really think about what it is and the loss behind it.”

You can nominate someone for Donna Gregory’s Extraordinary People here. All honorees get a year of free car washes from Tommy’s Express Car Wash.

This segment honors Donna Gregory, a beloved WWAY anchor who died in 2024 after a battle with lung cancer.