Rolling Thunder has been a Memorial Day tradition for more than 30 years now. First begun to to publicize the POW-MIA issue, this weekend more than 100,000 bikers rode through the nation’s capital in honor of the fallen ~
The huge motorcycle rally began in 1988 with fewer than 3,000 participants under the motto “We will never forget.” The goal was to press for an accounting of those missing in Vietnam.
Over the years, it has grown into a rumbling combination of protest and parade.
Riders end up at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the nearby Lincoln Memorial for speeches and a concert on the eve of Memorial Day.
Unlike Veterans Day in the United States, which honors all military veterans in November, Memorial Day — on the last Monday in May — is aimed specifically at remembering those who died while serving in the US armed forces, were prisoners of war or remain unaccounted for.
Participants were prepared for the 2019 ride to be their last. Organizers had announced that this would be the final Rolling Thunder, primarily due to difficulties with staging the event ~
Organizers had cited difficult relations with the Pentagon — where riders line up to begin the rally — over logistics and costs, in announcing that this year would mark the last national rally.
“As always, the Pentagon is charging us with an outrageous bill for their services,” the group’s national president Joe Bean said in a letter to members.
President Trump weighed in on Twitter (from Japan) yesterday ~
The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be. Have a wonderful time today. Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2019
Trump’s word was enough for Ron Galey, a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam in 1968-69 and has taken part in every Rolling Thunder ride since 1990.
“Trump said it’s not over, so it is not over, and he is the boss of those guys and he keeps his word,” he told AFP.
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Lots more pix from yesterday’s ride at Breitbart
