LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) – The body of a marine killed in Afghanistan returned to her hometown of Lawrence following a procession Saturday afternoon.
The marine, Sergeant Johanny Rosario Pichardo, was one of 13 killed by a suicide bomber during the evacuation in Kabul, Afghanistan last month.
She will be flown to Logan International Airport on Saturday at noontime and escorted to Lawrence by her fellow Marines, the state police as well as police and firefighters from her home city.
The public was invited to line the streets for the procession honoring her and her sacrifice. It entered the city from the southbound side of Route 495 and continued on to Route 114 west. It the turned onto Winthrop Avenue before making its way onto Parker Street, over the Central Bridge and ended at Farrah Funeral Home.
“There was many, many veterans on these bridges to show respect. This young lady was such an amazing person beyond being a United States Marine Corps sergeant,” said Lou Ciamaglia, Veterans Services Director in Wilmington. “It’s the least we can do to show respect to her family for their sacrifice.”
This was Rosario Prichard’s second deployment to Afghanistan, the first being when she was just 18 years old.
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Her body was brought back to the US two weeks ago.
A wake will be held on Tuesday at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Lawrence and a funeral with full military honors will be held later that day.
“Her legacy will live on forever,” said Caimaglia.
The family has set up a GoFundMe in her memory.
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