Honoring Jay County’s own

Indiana’s Run for the Fallen will return to its full form this year, concluding its first day in Portland.

In that day-one closing ceremony, Jay County will get to honor one of its own.

Indiana’s Run for the Fallen will present an Honor and Sacrifice Flag to the family of Paul Prater, a Jay County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was killed while on duty in 1983, in a ceremony at 5:32 p.m. Friday at Freedom Park in Portland.

“It is an honor for me to be able to do this,” said Juli Rains, Prater’s daughter, who will accept the flag during the ceremony. “The fact that my dad is being recognized after so many years means a lot to me.”

Knowing the run did not have an Honor and Remember Flag to present at the conclusion of the first day this year, Portland’s Donald Gillespie, who organizes the Indiana event, thought of Prater. He approached Prater’s widow, Cindy, who said she’d like the Honor and Sacrifice Flag to be presented to her daughter.

“It’s a natural fit for Jay County to honor one of ours,” said Gillespie, who won’t be running this year because of some health issues but will instead be coordinating the event throughout. “When I’m doing the run, it’s amazing. You see these families, and to hear their son’s or daughter’s names read, it’s amazing the emotion that’s there, not only for (the families) but the runners. And to do it here in Jay County, where Juli was raised, I think will be special.”

Rains was just 10 months old when her father pulled over a vehicle for a speeding violation on Indiana 67 north of Redkey on the evening of Jan. 4, 1983. Prater got out of his car and was standing next to the van that had been speeding when he was struck by another vehicle.

Prater, 28, was transported to Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, but was pronounced dead about an hour later. He had suffered severe head injuries.

“He was one of the most dedicated police officers I’ve seen in Jay County in a long time,” said Portland Police Chief Ray Mock, who had worked with Prater when he was a city police officer, said at the time. “He was a good, honest, dedicated police officer. He respected the people he worked with.”

Rains will receive the Honor and Sacrifice Flag, which was developed on the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to honor those in all divisions of public safety who have lost their lives. (It’s sister flag, Honor and Remember, honors military service members who have died.) All living Jay County Sheriffs have been invited to be a part of the ceremony.

Though she has no memories of her father because she was so young at the time of his death, she’s heard plenty of stories about him. She’s looking forward to honoring him and sharing in that moment with her three children.

“It’s an opportunity to be able to create some new memories and to also celebrate who he was as a person,” said the 2000 Jay County High School graduate who is now a teacher at Park Elementary School in Greenwood. “As more time has passed, its nice to be able to still feel that he is being honored and remembered for the sacrifice that he made and the job that he did and the community that he loved working for.”

This year’s run marks a return to the traditional format after last year’s was broken into smaller, localized runs because of the coronavirus pandemic. It will begin with an opening ceremony at 7:30 a.m. Friday in Fort Wayne and proceed south at a pace of a mile every 11 minutes. (Runners stop at a marker every mile to read names of those who have given their lives in military service.) It is expected to enter Jay County about 3:50 p.m., with the stop to honor Lance Cpl. Andrew Whitacre of Bryant at 4:15 p.m. at Bryant Wesleyan Church. Runners are scheduled to arrive at the north side of Portland about 5:20 p.m., with the ceremony at Freedom Park at 5:32 p.m.

Eleven core runners, including Portland’s Eric Butcher, will run all three days, rotating in and out every few miles. They will be joined by groups of single-day runners, including Valentin Lopez of Portland and JCHS graduate Nicole (VanSkyock) Powell, and others are welcome to join for shorter stretches along the way.

The second day begins at Freedom Park at 7 a.m. Saturday, with runners expected to pass through Redkey about 9 a.m. It will conclude at Anderson Memorial Cemetery about 5:40 p.m. Day three begins at 7:30 a.m. in Anderson and will conclude about 1:20 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Plaza in Indianapolis after a slight detour to visit the new Gold Star Families Memorial Monument on Pennsylvania Street.