Airman with local ties to be buried in Ross County

COLUMBUS — An Ohio airman who died Oct. 1 at Dover Air Force Base will be escorted to Ross County on Wednesday for burial later this week.

The Patriot Guard will escort the body of Airman First Class Lincoln T. Johnson early Wednesday evening.

Johnson's mother, Bonnie Nichols-Johnson, told the Gazette on Tuesday that word of his death hit the family hard and struck a chord with friends all over the world.

"We lived overseas for 10 years, in Italy and Germany," she said. "Everyone is just devastated. He had friends from Ohio State, from paintball and even people on the base at Dover."

His friends have shown an outpouring of support for Johnson's family.

"Everyone that has contacted us has spoken of him as an inspiration to them, someone who lifted them up, was a motivator and always a positive person," Nichols-Johnson said. "He was my 'little man.' That's what I always called him. He was just a kind, compassionate kid with a great personality."

He had a particular love of paintball, a military-styled game in which players try to tag each with water-soluble dye packs. He competed with Paintball Xcape, out of Bloomingburg.

Johnson, 22, died Oct. 1, according to a story from the Dover Post. He was from Reynoldsburg and served as a military justice paralegal at the Dover legal office as part of the 436th Airlift Wing.

Johnson's mother attended school and grew up in Ross County and now lives near Circleville. She said her son's body was found in his room after he did not show up for work and she still does not know the cause of death. Dover officials are still investigating.

His mother said he joined the military in 2013 and spent six weeks training as a paralegal in Alabama before he was assigned to Dover in September 2014. He was preparing to leave in November for a three-year stint with the Air Force in London, England.

"He loved being in Dover and I spoke with the commander who told me that he was very well respected there," said Nichols-Johnson, adding that he volunteered time at the Air Mobility Command Museum, which is devoted to the history of the Dover Air Force Base.

Johnson's body is expected to arrive at Port Columbus International Airport at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday and travel to Ware Funeral Home in Chillicothe. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday and the funeral will begin at 1 p.m. Friday. He will be buried at Schooley's Chapel Cemetery on Schooley Station Road in Liberty Township.