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LCpl. Leon Deraps

(reprinted from KansasCity.com, May 9, 2006)

Marine from Jamestown killed in Iraq

Associated Press
 

JAMESTOWN, Mo. - A 19-year-old Marine from this small mid-Missouri town was killed over the weekend in Iraq, the Defense Department said Tuesday.

Lance Cpl. Leon Deraps died Saturday during combat operations in Anbar Province, an area of western Iraq dominated by Sunni Arab-led insurgents.

Deraps enlisted in the Marines shortly after graduating from Jamestown High School, where ministers were dispatched to help students deal with the news.

One friend of the soldier, Craig Fryer, said Deraps was one of the nicest people he knew.

"He was the greatest friend I could have ever had," Fryer said. "He was the kind of guy that would help anyone."

Funeral arrangements for the soldier were pending.