Jersey City officials and police department brass will be on hand to salute and send off 25 police officers and military veterans as they undertake the arduous task of running 600 miles to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

The ceremonies, set to begin 10 am sharp on Monday, April 16, 2012 I at the Purple Heart Memorial in Journal Square, in Journal Square, launch the 25 participants in a five-state trek of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and finally North Carolina over a five day period. The runners themselves are comprised of Marine Corps veterans, Army veterans and police officers from Jersey City, Newark West New York, NJ State Police and Port Authority police, law enforcement agencies.

“Itâ€s a tremendous undertaking and exemplary that veterans and police officers, who quite frankly have already given so much of themselves, would take this upon themselves to give back even more,” said Mayor Jerrramiah T. Healy.

The event, dubbed the Honor Courage Commitment Run, was coordinated by Iraq war veteran and Jersey City Police Officer, Collin Congleton, who is a United States Marine. Each of the runners will run three-mile “legs” of the journey during the non-stop 24-hour a day effort until reaching their destination at the Beirut Memorial at Camp Lejeune.

“We are so proud of the efforts our first responders do here at home during the course of their working hours protecting our residents, but the many of whom who have served our country as well in the armed services, they canâ€t be commended enough,” said Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey.

Congleton said the motivation for the run is to let the wounded soldiers know that they are not forgotten. All proceeds generated will be forwarded to the US Marine Corp’s Wounded Warrior Regiment and the Wounded Warrior Project. Anyone interested in making donations to the cause is urged to visit, HCCRun.com or email JCPDMarine@gmail.com. You can also find HCC Run on Facebook or call for information at (201)953-9415.

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