| So Ray Kozlowski came up with the idea of a poker run and cruise-in to help raise money in Deyarmin's memory.
That event, held Sunday, brought out thousands of other "horsepower enthusiasts" -- a term Kozlowski used to describe the 22-year-old Deyarmin -- and was expected to raise thousands of dollars for Disabled American Veterans in the Marine's honor.
Kozlowski said more than 1,500 motorcyclists entered the poker run, an event in which bikers collect playing cards at various checkpoints along a set route. The rider with the best poker hand at the end wins prizes.
Another 500 or so showed up to show off their classic and collector cars and trucks during the cruise-in at the parking lot at Summit Racing Equipment on Southeast Avenue.
Kozlowski said the 100 volunteers he had organized to help with the event were outnumbered by the thousands of participants and spectators.
Deyarmin's father, Daniel Sr., said he was overwhelmed by the response.
"I'm just so happy, and it's going for such a good cause, the Disabled American Veterans," he said.
The Tallmadge father added that he feared there would be a lot more troops either killed or disabled before the war is over.
He said the event was "a healing process" to be able to honor his son's memory while helping others.
"It's helped us so much," he said.
His wife, Edie Deyarmin, said the success of the event made her proud.
From the time her son was very young, she said, he was interested "in anything that had a motor."
"He always wanted to try to figure out how things worked,'' she said.
Kozlowski, of Brimfield, said he was returning home from a motorcycle trip to Yellowstone National Park when he learned of Deyarmin's death. Any parent, he said, can feel the pain of the loss a child and he wanted to find a way to help. | 
