Miss. dedicates crash memorial

ITTA BENA, Miss. - Mississippi and Marine Corps officials dedicated a memorial July 14 to the 15 Marines and Navy corpsman who died in a KC-130T military transport plane crash in July 2017. Hundreds gathered for ceremonies at Mississippi Valley State University, and a nearby memorial, according to The Greenwood Commonwealth. The Special Forces Marines aboard the KC-130T were flying from Camp Lejeune, N.C., to California for training when it crashed near Itta Bena. "Your loss has become our loss," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant told those who came from as far away as Ireland for the ceremony. Following the service, the crowd was bused to witness the unveiling of the memorial, which displays an image of a KC-130T set in granite and surrounded in a circle by the engraved names of the service members. About 30 people then set off on a 900-mile ruck march to the Marine Corps Special Operations Command at Camp Lejeune. The teams of will be on the road around the clock for weeks, relaying rucksacks of dirt and sand from the crash site and memorial site to Camp Lejeune. They intend to plant a tree in the soil at the MCSOC. No cause for the plane crash has been released, as the investigation continues. (Source: The Associated Press 07/15/18)