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Burlington Police officer and Army veteran walks 22 miles to honor fallen vets

TEWKSBURY, Mass. — A Burlington Police officer walked 22 miles from Tewksbury to Boston today in honor of Veterans Day. That man, Jake DeSantis, is a U.S. Army veteran and did the “Memorial Ruck March” in order to raise money for the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Foundation.

Along with DeSantis is Second Lt. Joe Morgan, who also walked 22 miles in Georgia, where Morgan is currently stationed. The pair originally planned to walk 14.5 miles, but later decided to up the distance to 22 miles.

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“Joe and I will be increasing our mileage to 22 miles in total in honor of the 22 veterans on average a day that take their own life,” DeSantis wrote on the fundraiser’s GoFundMe page.

DeSantis began his journey at the Tewksbury Police Department and ended it when he reached the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial in Boston.