ITTA BENA, Miss.—Staff Sgt. William J. Kundrat was a family man. He helped his wife and daughter cook dinner in the kitchen every night. He laughed and danced through the living room and hugged them closely every chance he got.
“He loved us more than anything in the world. He thought that we hung the stars and the moon,” his widow, Ashley Kundrat, told the Mississippi Free Press on July 11.
William Kundrat, a member of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, was flying with 14 other Marines and a Navy corpsman from North Carolina to the Naval Air Facility in El Centro, California, on the last day of his life. On July 10, 2017, the aircraft, which had the callsign “Yanky 72,” crashed in a soybean field in Itta Bena, Mississippi.
The crash was caused by a defective propeller smashing into the side of the aircraft, causing a mid-air catastrophe. The accident prompted a military investigation into the proper inspection of the aircraft, which blamed the crash on negligence and a lack of quality assurance and control.
This year marked the ninth anniversary of the plane crash, commemorating the lives of the 16 men who never got the opportunity to hug, cook or dance with their families again.
Aleah Kundrat, the 17-year-old daughter of Ashley and William Kundrat, took this year’s memorial recognition harder than previous years.
“This year has been especially hard because I was 8 when it happened. So this marks the year that he has been dead longer than I knew him,” she told the Mississippi Free Press on July 11.
Each year, the mother-and-daughter duo drive 12 hours from their hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina, to Itta Bena, Mississippi, to remember the man who loved them so. While they tragically lost a father and husband, they say that the spirit of family lives on through the people they have met along the way.
“This is the ninth year that we have come to be with what has become our extended family. Everyone here has been so wonderful. We feel so welcomed here. That’s why we keep coming back,” Ashley Kundrat said.
She added that the memorial keeps her husband’s memory alive.
“It feels good knowing that he’s not forgotten,” she said. “Feeling like he would be forgotten was one of my biggest fears, but people have reassured us over and over that as long as they live, (the men) won’t be forgotten.”
Mississippi Marine Corps Memorial
Though none of the men in the Yanky 72 crash were Mississippi natives, the Marine Corps League of Mississippi decided to commemorate the lost service members.
Clifton Addison, the senior vice commandant of the Marine Corps League Department of Mississippi at the time, knew that collecting money for the fallen soldiers’ families was not enough.
“We were going to send them some money, but then we wanted to do something else, so we said, ‘Let’s put a marker,’” he told the Mississippi Free Press on July 11.
After working with the department on the project, Addison and other corps members raised funds through donations and support from organizations like the Woody Williams Foundation, the Marine Raider Foundation and the Marine Corps.
“We started raising money, and they all jumped in to send it to us,” Addison said, adding that they received assistance from Leflore County and the City of Greenwood as well.
Addison said that many people contributed to his efforts. His daughter, Kelsey McCarty, has also worked to keep the memory of the fallen soldiers alive.
“My daughter has been my right hand with this. She helps me, and if it weren’t for her, I don’t think I could still do it now,” Addison added.
‘It Will Outlive All of Us’
Clifton Addison and Kelsey McCarthy have helped organize the memorial for the past nine years. Though she is not directly connected to any of the victims of the crash, talking to the families and inviting them for the annual commemoration is her special contribution to honoring the men who lost their lives.
“None of the families have a connection to Mississippi. As the years go on, it’s going to be hard for them to visit the exact place where their man was found. Having a memorial like this brings the families somewhere they can visit and see them,” McCarty told the Mississippi Free Press on July 11.
She also said that the memorial has a lasting effect on service members who pass by the memorial to pay their respects.
“We get messages all the time from Marines who are driving through. They stop and pay their respects. They leave coins. Sometimes, they leave beer,” she said.
Remembering One More Loss
Seven families joined the ceremony this year, laying flowers on the names of their lost loved ones. One person in attendance was Anna Johnson, who attended in remembrance of her late husband, Gunnery Sgt. Brendan Johnson.
Since 2017, she has traveled from her home in North Carolina to commemorate his life. Though she has made this trip every year for nearly a decade, she said the tragedy of the loss still hurts.
“People say it gets better. God, I can’t say that. I can say it’s different. Here it is a different heartbreak, but I still woke up just two weeks ago, thinking he was there,” Johnson told the Mississippi Free Press on July 11.
Following the crash, Johnson built strong bonds with other families impacted by the accident—bonds birthed in heartbreak.
“This is a family we never wanted. But it’s the most beautiful family they gave us. This is their legacy. They left something amazing for all of us,” she said.
While the crash received local and national attention, Johnson said there was one person in particular who seemed to be the glue holding everyone together.
Brenda Grubb, a long-time resident of Moorhead, Mississippi, a small town about 12 miles west of the memorial, was the head of the town’s garden club. After hearing about the crash, she felt compelled to reach out to the families and help in any way she could.
“She had the most generous heart, the most loyal, kind commitment. These families became her families. These men became her men. Her finger really is in everything that is this memorial,” Johnson said.
Grubb’s commitment to the many families extended past phone calls and text messages. She opened her home to them as well.
“My mom came the March after the crash, and she took her in and showed her everything. She stayed in her home,” Aleah Kundrat said.
Grubb died on April 20 of this year, but Johnson said she stayed connected with the families and stood by them for as long as she could.
Though she has passed on, her legacy lives on through the memorial and through her daughter, Carondelet Nollner.
She honors her mother by wearing her Yanky 72 t-shirt, with her mother’s signature touch.
“My mother was a quintessential Southern belle. One of the things she loved was sewing and lace. She had to embellish any t-shirt she got, so this is her Yanky 72 shirt that she embellished with lace,” Nollner said. “So after she passed, one of the first things I looked for was this t-shirt because I know that I would be wearing it to all the memorials,” Nollner told the Mississippi Free Press on July 11.
As Nollner continues to commemorate the lives lost during the Yanky 72 crash each year, she said she is proud that the Mississippi Delta continues to show its care.
“To see that the Mississippi Delta still cares for these men, and still cares for these families, is who we are as the state of Mississippi,” she said. “That’s who we are as the Mississippi Delta.”
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