Marines and sailor honored at memorial in Jacksonville

ONSLOW COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A military plane crash earlier this week in Mississippi resulted in the death of six marines and a sailor from camp Lejeune and three men were from our area.

It is a truly tragic time for the families of those killed in the plane crash in Mississippi. All that is left is their memory.

A memorial was held in Jacksonville to honor these marines and sailor.

Navy corpsman, Ryan Michael Lohrey and Marine Talon Leach died with the 14 other marines. Both men lived in Hampstead.

Lohrey was married and was a purple heart recipient and leach was scheduled to come home on leave in December.

We’re also told William Kundrat was an assistant scoutmaster in our area.

“The command’s top priority right now is caring for the families of our fallen. We ask for continued prayers and support during this difficult time and as the families begin the long process of grief and recovery please respect their privacy and their need to focus on these difficult first steps,” Special Operation Deputy Commander, Corporal Steven Grass, said.

Grass says that the tight knit community is hurt by what happened but will pull through with time.

Grass went on to say that their motto is “spiritus invictus” or “unconquerable spirit” and during this time, marine forces and other agencies are continuing to work through this situation.