For the past seven years, the first Saturday in May has brought the people of Jamestown and its surrounding areas together for the Lance Corporal Leon Deraps USMC Memorial Walk/Run.
Each spring it has been an important occasion in the Jamestown community, and with this eighth annual five-mile walk/run set for 9:00 a.m. this Saturday, that rings especially true this year.
Taking place one day after the 10th anniversary of Deraps’s death while in combat operations in Iraq, this year’s event will be the final one. Along with his Drill Instructor, 10 Marines who served with Deraps in Iraq will be on hand Saturday.
Advanced Chimney, which will be the starting point for this year’s walk, will also unveil a new flagpole that is being donated. In the previous seven years of the event, over $35,000 has been raised in the Leon Bertrand Deraps Scholarship Fund.
Starting in Jamestown and finishing at Assumption Catholic Church in Cedron, the event is not only a chance to commemorate Deraps’s memory with a good cause, but it’s also a way to experience the rural beauty of the area.
“It’s a beautiful and spiritual walk,†Leon’s mother Sandra Deraps said. “It’s breathtaking in the spring.â€
Growing up in Jamestown, Deraps joined Boy Scouts where he went on to earn 35 Merit Badges. In 2005, he was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout, which in turn, gave him the rank of Private, First Class upon entering the Marine Corps.
In previous years of the event, turnout has usually ranged from 400 to 500 registered participants.