Peabody 'Ruck' Crew Raises $15K In Officer Henry Breckenridge's Memory

PEABODY, MA — Four Peabody "ruckers" walked and ran the 26.2-mile distance of the Boston Marathon this weekend in memory of late Officer Henry Breckenridge as the quartet raised $15,000 to be donated in Breckenridge's name toward a fund that supports the families of first responders, military, fire, police, and EMTs who have fallen in the line of duty or died in the midst of their careers.

The Boston Tough Ruck helped pay for Breckenridge's funeral and other expenses to help out his family following his death from routine surgical complications in July, with PPD Sgt. Robert Gallo, Officer Damien Mello, Billy Walz and Tony Vargas gave back with their efforts this past weekend.

The event used to take place during the Boston Marathon but has been split into a different event since the 2013 bombing that led to a ban on the type of backpacks that ruckers carry during their trek. The ruck sacks are 35 pounds to represent the backpacks that military personnel wear and the oxygen tanks and equipment that firefighters carry while on duty.

"I was called to Ruck as a way to support fellow veterans and first responders, especially fallen service members, police, firefighters, and EMTs," said Gallo, who served in the U.S. Marines from 1995 to 1999, in a post on Peabody social media. On behalf of Henry and his family, this was my honor."

The Boston Tough Ruck, which also helped families of those killed or injured in the Marathon bombing, is limited to 1,000 participants each year.

The Peabody ruckers trained for several months walking miles with heavy backpacks to build up endurance as well as raising money for the donation. They also received their Boston Marathon jacket and medals for their efforts.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)