15 Marines and a Navy sailor were killed in a military plane crash earlier this week in Mississippi, including a Marine from Frederick, Md
The 15 Marines and a Navy sailor killed in a military plane crash earlier this week in Mississippi came from around the country. Six of the Marines and the sailor were from an elite Marine Raider battalion at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Nine were based out of Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, home of a Marine Aerial Refueling and Transport Squadron.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said the final set of remains was recovered Thursday from a farm field where the KC-130 crashed Monday. Most of the remains have since been flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where military officials say they will be processed by Air Force mortuary personnel and then released to their grieving families.
Among those killed was 33 year old Staff Sgt. William Joseph Kundrat who grew up in Frederick, where his parents, Joseph and Lynda, still live.
His mother confirmed her son’s death in a facebook post earlier this week.
Kundrat graduated in 2002 from Gov. Thomas Johnson High School where he played football and lacrosse. He also was an Eagle Scout.
After graduation, he joined the Marines. In 2004, Kundrat married classmate Ashley Cregger. They lived in Holly Ridge, North Carolina, and have two children.
Kundrat served in Iraq, later joining the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command 2nd Marine Raider battalion stationed at Camp Lejeune.
-AP