Itta Bena, MS remembers fallen Marines
BlueCord Dad sends us a link to the story of Itta Bena, Mississippi and their memorial to the 15 Marines and the Navy Corpsman who died in a plane crash last year in a soybean field.
It’s an active form of memory — building, telling, hiking, running — to honor the New York-based crewmembers who flew the KC-130T military transport, as well as the special forces Marines they were carrying from North Carolina to California for training.
“All we want to do is talk about them and share who they were with the rest of the world,” said Anna Johnson, the widow of Gunnery Sgt. Brendan Johnson, a crew member.
More than 200 family members and friends gathered Saturday in the Mississippi Delta town of Itta Bena to dedicate a monument to the July 10, 2017, crash of the plane, whose call sign was Yanky 72.
Category: We Remember
Bravo Zulu Itta Bena, Mississippi!
Good job, Bena.
>>>Correction<<<
Itta Bena.
KUDOS to the Fine People of Itta Bena Mississippi.
Yanky 72. This is Itta Bena. Over.
Yanky 72. This is Itta Bena. Over.
Yanky 72…
They were under instrument flight rules, being monitored via radar by the Memphis ARTCC. at 1541 CDT on 10 JUL 2017, Memphis Center lost radar and radio contact, and began calling airfields in the vicinity. None responded affirmatively, but at the time the Greenwood, MS fire department was racing to two simultaneous fires, 1.2 miles apart either side of MS Hwy 82.
The entirety of LeFlore county really delivered. During the initial response to YANKY72’s loss, the recovery of the remains and wreckage, and as the memorial plans developed. They worked seamlessly with the various Federal and DoD responders and showed them nothing but the best hospitality. Those of us who went up there this past weekend for the dedication, they rolled the red carpet right back out. And they were patient as the VMGR/Raider personnel, vets, and families put on a lively, alcohol-fueled ‘road show’ after hours for three nights back to back.
R. A. Hardin,
Former KC-130 Navigator and Sgt/USMC
Thank you for that first-person report. It’s good to read. Very good.
Bravo Zulu, Itta Bena, and thanks. Good to see people who still get it.
A little info about Itta Bena, MS:
Meaning:
Itta Bena, Mississippi
City
Home in the Woods
Home in the Woods
Population (2010)
Itta Bena is a city in Leflore County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 2,049 at the 2010 census. The town’s name is derived from the Choctaw phrase iti bina, meaning “forest camp”.[2] Itta Bena is part of the Greenwood, Mississippi micropolitan area. It developed as a trading center of an area of cotton
Thank you, tiny Itta Bena, for your consideration in doing this.
Wow. What a heart warming story. Kinda gets to ya.
What everyone else said. Just thanks to all involved.
Nicely done, and kudos for this small town for doing it.