Slain Marine remembered on Honor Flight

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – World War II, Korean and Vietnam war veterans weren’t the only ones aboard the Bluegrass Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. Saturday.

A pair, veteran and guardian, traditionally visits the nation’s capital for the special trip to visit memorials of the wars. But on Saturday, a veteran, guardian Zach Dooley and a portrait of fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Johnathan Price visited war monuments as a three-person team.

Two gunman shot and killed 26-year-old Price during a robbery outside Lexington’s Austin City Saloon in June 2014. His friend Dooley, a member of University of Kentucky’s R.O.T.C.  and the National Guard, wanted to preserve his memory.

Dooley met with two board members of the Bluegrass Honor Flight for dinner on Sept. 17. By the end of the meal, they decided Dooley should travel with another veteran and a portrait of Price to guard the fallen veteran’s memory.

Price’s mother is a sponsor of the Honor Flight. Dooley captured photos of the team’s visit to the capital and says he plans on creating a photo book with the images for Price’s mother.