FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- The search continues for five marines who disappeared after a deadly plane crash in Japan.
A man who has family in Northern Virginia is among the missing, and hundreds of people showed up to a prayer vigil for Lt. Col. Kevin Herrmann on Saturday in Fredericksburg.
Lt. Col. Herrmann’s family and friends are holding onto prayers as the military works to find him and four other marines missing off the coast of Japan.
Lt. Col. Herrmann and his fellow marines disappeared Thursday after two US marine planes crashed in mid-air.
The wreck happened during a re-fueling exercise.
“God will give us the strength to get through it,” Mary Herrmann told WUSA9.
Lt. Col. Herrmann’s parents said the news caught them off guard.
Their son served four tours in Iraq, was trained in Quantico, and is an experienced pilot of the plane he was in during the accident.
“You kind of expect it when they are at war, but — so no. It was shocking,” Mary Herrmann explained.
Lt. Col. Herrmann is described as fun-loving, generous, and someone who everyone seems to like.
He is a family man with a wife and three daughters.
“We’re praying that they bring him home to them,” his mother said.
Captain Jahmar Resilard did not make it home to his family.
The 28-year-old is one of two marines rescued the same day the crash happened, but Captain Resilard died shortly after he was saved.
Hundreds of loved ones yearned for a positive outcome at the vigil Saturday night as some began to cope with sobering realities.
“We are hoping for the best, but, if not, man Kevin was an awesome, awesome friend. He was an awesome guy. He was one hell of a marine,” one friend said.
There are several U.S. and Japanese agencies involved in the search.
