…
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
