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Man records ode to troops

Jul-22-2004 » Filed Under: General Military

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By MECHELE COOPER Staff Writer

LITCHFIELD -- Scott DeRaps hopes to raise at least $200 to send copies of a song he wrote and recorded last week to the Maine Army National Guard's 133rd Engineering Battalion in Iraq.

American Legion Post 6 in Hallowell has already donated $100 for the project, and DeRaps is counting on exposure from a local radio station to help raise the rest of the money. [...]

DeRaps, of Litchfield, is a member of the 133rd, but had to stay behind when the group was deployed in January for Iraq because of his asthma.

"I've always wanted to do a song for them," DeRaps said Monday. "I wanted to express my feelings being back here and not being a part of it. I've had a lot of feelings of grief and guilt. I think more guilt."

He said the country song also is a way to thank the men and women fighting in Iraq.

Included in his song is the name of Christopher Gelineau, the 23-year-old University of Southern Maine student from Portland who was killed on April 20 near Mosul. [...]


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