Ed Pfueller photo

From left Jeff Gerlach, Josh Ennis and Brandon Cook prepare Deraps’ memorial yesterday in Jamestown.

Josh Ennis would have given anything to not have built a memorial outside his former high school yesterday, but when his childhood friend was killed in Iraq, Ennis felt compelled to act.

Left, Army National Guard Pfc. Alva Gaylord of Carrollton was killed May 5 in Iraq. Right, Marine Lance Cpl. Leon Deraps died last Saturday in Iraq.

"I thought he was bulletproof," Ennis said. "I just didn’t believe - I still don’t believe it."

Lance Cpl. Leon Bertrand Deraps, 19, of Jamestown was killed in al-Anbar province, Iraq, last Saturday - a day after Army National Guard Pfc. Alva Lamar Gaylord, 25, of Carrollton was killed in Qasr Ar Riyy, Iraq.

Gaylord’s death on May 5 marked the first combat fatality for the Missouri National Guard in Operation Iraqi Freedom, First Lt. Jamie Melchert said.

Ed Pfueller photo

Hundreds of American flags line both sides of Highway 179 in Jamestown, the home of Deraps, 19. The Marine served with the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

"It is significant," he said. "It obviously makes the war a little more real to all of us back in the state serving."

The father of two girls, Gaylord was a member of the Missouri Guard’s Company C, 110th Engineer Battalion, based in Lexington. The Department of Defense said he was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near the RG-31 mine protected vehicle he was operating.

The 110th shipped out in August, and Melchert said the unit is likely to return home after the typical one-year rotation.

"I know a lot of soldiers in the Missouri Guard right now are working to try and assist the family," he said. "That has been one of the main focuses in the past week."

Deraps finished his high school senior year as prom king and an Eagle Scout, and he joined the Marine Corps in June.

Deraps died while conducting combat operations with the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

Dale Deraps of Jamestown, a Marine Corps veteran, released a statement this week honoring his son. "He grew up running in the soft hills and creek bottoms of the Missouri River valley," he said. "Always obedient, he was a good student, anyone’s friend, loved by all, and answered to Buddy, Bud, Uncle Lon, Bert and Bird Man."

Leon Deraps’ grandfather, Leon "Bud" Deraps of St. Louis, said he’d miss his grandson and regretted not getting to know him better.

"He was usually out with his friends" when Bud Deraps visited Jamestown, the grandfather said. "They were the greatest of buddies."

Ennis, who spent yesterday constructing a 10-foot-by-10-foot memorial with a tree, bench and plants for his friend in front of the high school in Jamestown, said Leon Deraps was one of a kind.

"He’s the greatest friend you could ever have," Ennis said. "He’d do anything for you."

About 10 to 15 American flags are in every yard in Jamestown, Ennis said. The community intends to line the streets when Deraps’ body arrives in town Monday.

Bud Deraps said he’ll remember his grandson as a dedicated public servant who, during his senior year, renovated a small neglected cemetery. "It was quite a job, believe me," Deraps said. "It shows you what a caring kid he was."

A Mass for Leon Deraps is scheduled at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Cedron Catholic Church near Jamestown. A memorial service for Gaylord is scheduled at 10 a.m. Wednesday at First Baptist Church of Carrollton.

Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., issued a news release yesterday saying it plans to picket both services.

Bud Deraps, a member of Veterans for Peace, said the loss of his grandson is heartbreaking but also motivates him in continuing to oppose the war in Iraq.

"It’s going to make me work even harder to keep the kids I meet from going through what he went through," he said.