COAL GROVE — It’s another way the village of Coal Grove wants to remember their hero.

Right now the Dawson-Bryant High School Class of 2005 is raising money to build a memorial and set up a scholarship in memory of Sgt. Justin Bradley Allen who was killed in action while on a combat operation in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Allen, who was serving in the elite Army Rangers, was heading up an assault on an enemy position when he was killed in July.

Allen was vice president of the Class of 2005 that is spearheading the drive.

“Right after Justin passed away, we decided we needed to do something to keep his legacy alive in the village,” Jeremy Dillon, who was the class president, said. “It was almost an immediate decision. We grew up together. I had known him since sixth grade. We worked a lot our senior year together and even after high school we stayed in touch. He would call me when he came in.”

A fellow classmate who is also in the Army saw a military memorial sculpture where he is stationed at Fort Bragg. Replicating that for Allen is the goal of the classmates who want to place the sculpture on the campus of the high school.

“Whatever funds we have left, we decided to start a scholarship in honor of Justin and hopefully through the funds we raise and the contributions we raise by the classmates have that for a graduating senior,” Dillon said.

Among the local officials who paid tribute to Allen at the time of his funeral was Lawrence County Commissioner Les Boggs.

“A good way to remember somebody’s name is to start a scholarship,” Boggs said. “It reminds every senior class who this person was and how he served his country.”

The first fundraiser will be a picnic-concert-auction on Saturday, Oct. 9, at Paul Porter Park.

Also individual donations can be made for the memorial fund in care of PNC Bank, 701 High St., Coal Grove, OH 45638.