Names of soldiers killed in crash released by friends, family

Leflore County, Miss. —

The national grief over the military plane crash here extends directly to a door in Atlanta, to the father of an engineer who died on the plane.

Michael Snowden is the father of Staff Sgt. Joshua Snowden, who was among 15 Marines and one sailor who died Monday when their plane crashed in a rural soybean field. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but the faces of this tragedy are slowly coming to light.

Michael Snowden was close with his son, who visited Atlanta on several occasions. The father referred a reporter to a family friend, who described the Marine as “the very representation of a gentleman.”

Despite the Marines’ reticence the names of the crash victims are appearing on Facebook posts and other social media. And some relatives are speaking to the media in memory of their loved ones.

You can read the whole story about Staff Sgt. Snowden and other soldiers who died at myAJC.com.