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I love Rolling Thunder! They evolved out of the Vietnam War. As they came back from Vietnam, often bewildered, it was like time had stood still. Did they quietly accept that they had fought in an unpopular war and to suck it up and move on? Oh hell no.
According to the Rolling Thunder website:
Rolling Thunder began in 1987 as a demonstration to bring awareness to the plight of prisoners of war (POW) and to those missing in action (MIA). Rolling Thunder originated when four Vietnam Veterans, exercising the First Amendment “Right to Petition and Assemble”, organized the first group of 2500 motorcycles to ride through the streets of Washington, DC. This first Rolling Thunder run was made in an attempt to petition the government to take responsibility for the soldiers that were abandoned after the Vietnam War ended.
My generation is a scrappy bunch. They are loud and proud. No parade? No ticker tape? No recognition other than brats demonstating? They made their own damn parade. My generation yells at you to convince you of their opinion. After you agree (even if it is to shut us up) then we yell at you some more just to make the point. Oliver Stone shouts the boomer point of view. Rolling Thunder roars it.
Now as those who served in the Persian Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan join them, the roar will be even louder. They won’t let us forget. They have come to honor their dead and their missing, the P.O.W.s who never came home.
Official Rolling Thunder Website
Enjoy the roar
And from another perspective…ride along with them.
Rolling Thunder 2009 – Ride of the Patriots – Fairfax to Arlington
Moonhowlings » Rolling Thunder Roars ? Memorial Day 2010…
I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…
GOOOOOD MORNING, VIETNAM!!!!
We could hear them roaring down I 66 this morning, around 7 am, from the house.
Wolverine, was that your Robin Williams impersonation? 😉
Yup.
On a blog not dedicated to military affairs and veterans specifically, this has to be one of the best Memorial Day presentations I have ever seen on the blogosphere. This is one graying old vet who salutes the admin of Moonhowlings.net.
If I only had a bike……..
Amazing.
And this vet thanks you, Moon. Bravo Zulu.
(Bravo Zulu is a naval signal, conveyed by flaghoist or voice radio, meaning “Well Done”)
Thank you for explaining that Cargo.
Blessed Memorial Day to all here, to all in our armed forces, to all those we remember. May peace someday prevail.
Thank you vets. We hope we did just a little to show our appreciation to you all, our blog family vets, those currently serving as well as those who have come before.
I believe that Rolling Thunder and the Vietnam Vets have performed a wonderful post war service. It is those service men and women who were treated so shabbily by some of the American people when those vets came home.
Rolling Thunder somehow removed any and all doubt and established that there is a difference between US policy and those who served. Like a phoenix arising from the ashes, they roared on the scene and took what was rightfully theirs. They dragged everyone else, screaming and kicking, in some cases, into that place that roars NEVER AGAIN. Never again will America’s military be treated disrespectfully by any American. And I firmly believe that Rolling Thunder sealed the deal on that one.
The Vietnam Vets were the sacrificial lambs, as it were. Many of those people were treated poorly. It won’t happen to anyone else. The American people will not stand for it.
Wolverine and Cargo,
I agree, Moonholwer has dedicated alot of time to this very important weekend. I think, in these past two wars, Iraq and Afganastan, it is clear, not all of us share this same sacrafice, not by a long shot. whenever I see someone in uniform, I always go up and say “thank you”.