{"id":28,"date":"2025-02-06T20:02:10","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T20:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rollingthunderin6.com\/new\/?page_id=28"},"modified":"2025-03-13T13:37:17","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T19:37:17","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rollingthunderin6.com\/new\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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History<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInto the 21st Century and Riding On<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRolling Thunder Continues to Grow<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t They Didn\u2019t Mind Losing a Few Good Men For a Little Glory<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRolling Thunder Struck a Common Chord in the Hearts of Vets<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFrom a Mountaintop in Nam to Rolling Thunder in the Streets of Washington<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Into the 21st Century and Riding On<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Years of Rolling Thunder\u2019s
\u201cRun to the Wall:\u201d Into the 21st Century and Riding On
By Linda Bordner
U.S. Veteran Dispatch Staff Writer
March 2001<\/strong><\/p>

They say the sound brings it all back. If you stand in Washington, D.C. the day before Memorial Day and face the Memorial Bridge, you will hear it for yourself. When it begins it\u2019s just a distant rumbling, more a feeling than a noise.

Then the bridge itself seems to tremble and something big shimmers on the distant horizon. They say there\u2019s only one thing on earth equal to the din of B-52s in carpet-bomb formation. They say it\u2019s the sound of Rolling Thunder\u2019s Run to the Wall.<\/p>

What began as a drive to champion what really happened to abandoned U.S. prisoners of war under the murky veil surrounding the Vietnam War has evolved into a uniquely American cause to protect and aid all U.S. military personnel then, now, and in the future.<\/p>

There\u2019s no denying the noise generated by more than 250,000 motorcycles riding wheel to wheel as they do each year in support of their mission is enough to get anyone\u2019s attention. But what\u2019s really impressive is the impact the group has had on a national and international level.<\/p>

To appreciate how far they\u2019ve come, you really have to go back to where and how they got started. That would be a smoky little diner near Summersville, New Jersey in 1987. A couple of Vietnam vets had crossed paths when they discovered each was doing the same thing on their own.<\/p>

\u201cWe were just two guys going around putting up flags,\u201d recalls Artie Muller of his meeting at the diner with co-founder Ray Manzo. \u201cIt was Ray\u2019s idea to do the motorcycle run. As for the name, there\u2019s nothing that sounds more like the B-52\u2019s carpet-bombing than a large group of Harley-Davidsons!\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI was in the U.S. Army,\u201d Muller, now Rolling Thunder president, states matter-of-factly. Today, it\u2019s no big deal to tell strangers your military affiliation. But Muller remembers clearly the very different world he and fellow vets returned to after serving in Vietnam.<\/p>

\u201cPeople would spit on us. Literally. Some called us names like \u2018baby-killers.\u2019 Basically we were treated like hell. I know guys who came home and just went and hid out in the woods.<\/p>

\u201cMost of us just came home and put our uniforms away. Didn\u2019t talk to anybody. Just tried to get back to a regular life. That was the best you could do. But there were guys who were, who still are, having a hard time with it.\u201d The sting of being shunned by the very nation they had gone to fight and lay down their lives for was bad enough. But the pain of learning how politics of war had betrayed them was far worse.<\/p>

\u201cThere were \u2013 so many guys \u2013 who went their first day into combat and got sent home in body bags the same day. They just weren\u2019t being trained what they needed to know to stay alive,\u201d Muller recalls.<\/p>

\u201cI was combat infantry, Sergeant E-5. I extended my stay another three months to keep these guys alive \u2013 to train them, the guys just coming in, so at least they\u2019d have a chance.\u201d<\/p>

For many, including American POW patriots left behind in captivity, the right to at least have a chance seemed to be a little too much to ask. In the aftermath of troop withdrawal, the government seemed more eager to save face than to salvage the lives of those who served.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Muller can explain Rolling Thunder\u2019s history in a few well-chosen, heartfelt words:<\/p>

\u201cWe found out the U.S. government lied to everybody and we were very aggravated. We got involved in Washington passing bills to protect armed forces left behind after conflicts. We help servicemen get their VA benefits and steer them in the right direction to get the help they need.\u201d<\/p>

In the beginning, there was a march as well as the motorcycle run, to bring attention to the Rolling Thunder cause. Neither Muller nor Manzo were used to being the ones on the demonstration line, and had no clue the response they might have that first year.<\/p>

\u201cNone of us ever did anything like this before,\u201d Muller says of the first event. \u201cWe applied for the permits and got them OK. That part went pretty smoothly. But when we got there \u2013 we didn\u2019t know what to expect. We didn\u2019t know if anybody would even show up.\u201d<\/p>

Hearts soared when the first motorcycles appeared. Then more cycles came and kept on coming until some 2500 motorcycles joined in the unmistakable roar of unity. In addition, upwards of 5000 marchers showed up, too. The crowd, it turned out, wasn\u2019t just Vietnam vets, but ordinary civilians as well. It was as if the American populace, silent all those years, had suddenly found voice. The vets, who had served without thanks and suffered without support that day received a long overdue vote of confidence from a tardy nation.<\/p>

Suddenly, being a Vietnam vet was no longer a mark of shame, but a badge of honor. Out of the woodwork came droves of would be heroes claiming to have medals in a war they never fought, some even too young to remember. Despite the oddness of the 1980s turnabout, Rolling Thunder has never wavered from its cause. Muller cites the hero mentality as one he strives to overcome in dealing with vets who belatedly have to come to terms with a war without closure.<\/p>

\u201cVeterans, all of them, did their part, whether they were in combat or not. Whether they were loading cargo in planes, trucking food into the guys or flying in supplies, they all deserve credit. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s right for guys to feel they weren\u2019t vital just because they maybe weren\u2019t in combat.\u201d<\/p>

After the first few events, the march portion of Rolling Thunder\u2019s demonstration was dropped, but the motorcycle motorcade continues to swell in rank and number. The year 2000 Memorial run included over 250,000 cycles and about 400,000 attendees in support of the group.<\/p>

Ask any serviceman how you close a military mission, and you\u2019ll hear the same words \u201cLeave no one behind.\u201d It might have started out as a limited engagement to focus attention on those unaccounted for after Vietnam, but it\u2019s become much, much more. Rolling Thunder picked up the banner of accountability its government dropped and carries it with pride and honor into the 21st century.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Timeline to Unity<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The birth of Rolling Thunder didn\u2019t take place in some upscale boardroom like most big organizations. It wasn\u2019t born on paper like many well intended goal-oriented missions. And it certainly wasn\u2019t the brainchild of Pentagon military minds at secret strategy sessions.<\/p>

Instead what has become one of the largest grassroots veterans\u2019 groups in history began silently, in the heart of a serviceman wanting only to do the right thing.<\/p>

When Ray Manzo came home from Vietnam in 1969, he carried with him more than the memory of a long costly war. Far from the 1st Marine Division, 7th Engineers, Bravo Company, 2nd Platoon where he served two years from 1968 to 1969, Manzo kept hearing an aching voice apparently ignored by top war strategists. What about us, it seemed to cry. What about us? What about us when the peace was signed? What about us \u2013 the ones who kept our promise to fight for freedom as long as we drew breath? What about our freedom? What about the nation\u2019s promise to us? It was that silent, collective cry of American GIs left behind that refused to die in his head that prompted Manzo in 1987 to try in some small way to make things right. He began writing letters. Not sure of how to make his idea reality, he sent the letters to anyone he thought might give a care.<\/p>

Soon people began to read the letters from the heart of the tough old Marine. Members of well-established vet organizations read them. Hard core biker club members read them. Newspaper editors tossed them in piles of letters to print, along with pothole complaints and letters of thanks to local firefighters.<\/p>

Many ignored the plea he voiced, or just nodded agreeably as they threw it out with the day\u2019s trash. But some didn\u2019t. In fact, a lot didn\u2019t. Among those who took the letters seriously were groups dedicated to helping POW\/MIA families.<\/p>

Then one day Ray Manzo walked up to some vets manning several POW\/MIA vigils near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington and asked for help.<\/p>

His idea: Host a motorcycle run in the nation\u2019s capital to show the country and the world that abandoned American soldiers in Vietnam still mattered to their fellow servicemen and the country for which they sacrificed their freedom. From that day on, things began to happen. One guy he talked to that day was Walt Sides, Vietnam vet and retired Marine 1st sergeant. Sides, president of the non-profit Warriors Inc, also took him seriously and began seeking support to help make the run happen.<\/p>

Another was Bob Schmitt, head of the Camp Brandenburg POW\/MIA vigil. Schmitt contacted the National Forget-Me-Not Association for POW\/MIA\u2019s Inc. and ask its director John Parcels for help. Parcels, a retired major and former POW, who was released in March 1973 from a Vietnam POW camp, joined the effort. He secured the endorcement of other returned POWs including retired Air Force Col. Laird Gutterson, held POW in Vietnam for over five years and Larry Stark, a Navy industrial relations employee, also held POW in Vietnam for over five years.<\/p>

Retired Army Sgt. Maj. John Holland first laid eyes on Manzo while manning one of the POW\/MIA vigils. Manzo\u2019s idea seemed just the thing his American Foundation for Accountability of POW\/MIAs could sink its teeth into. Vigils like the one Holland operated took part in had just come into its own nationwide, but still needed something to grab public attention for the cause. Holland knew National Park Service regs and offered to navigate the sea of paperwork needed for such an endeavor.<\/p>

What better date for the event than on Memorial Day, when America honored the sacrifices of its soldiers throughout its long history of liberty and justice for all? As the plan came together, even its organizers were surprised by the widespread response the run inspired.<\/p>

Those conversations led to a meeting with Artie Muller, who served in the 4th U.S. Infantry Division during Vietnam.<\/p>

Manzo explained his vision to Muller over coffee at a diner in Summerville, New Jersey. As he listened to the impassioned Marine\u2019s words, Muller saw in Manzo\u2019s dream something vets could get a hold of and run with.<\/p>

And run with it they did. Pooling talents and resources, vets found a common cause they could all support. Muller started to work on getting transportation for interested participants, as well as needed permits for the motorcycle run.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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So it happened that a three day event for Memorial Day weekend 1988 took shape in recognition and remembrance of the more than 2,500 POW\/MIAs from Vietnam\u2019s sad legacy. Even that long after the war, scattered sightings of live missing servicemen continued to be reported.<\/p>

They called it the Rolling Thunder Rally. By the time it was over, about 2,500 bikers had taken a stand by riding in defiant unity against what they saw as government disrespect and disregard for the fallen or captured in Vietnam. That amounted to roughly one biker for each missing American.<\/p>

News coverage of the 1988 Rolling Thunder Rally was short and sweet. If mentioned at all, it was condensed neatly into about 4 1\/2 seconds of air time. Still, somebody saw it. At home, thousands of vets watched their brothers stand up to be counted, and resolved that the next chance they got, they\u2019d do the same.<\/p>

Sure enough, the following spring, they got their chance. When James Gregory called for volunteers for a Run to the Wall, the response was overwhelming. The Vietnam Vets Motorcycle Club embraced the run with gusto. Run to the Wall was meant as a commemoration for those who served in Vietnam, living and dead, missing or present and accounted for.<\/p>

Now a new dimension was added to the bike run. Since increased attendance allowed for a fuller loop, 20,000 bikes presented in formation four bikes across and eight miles long. Most bikes carried an additional rider, for a riding total over 30,000.<\/p>

Beginning at the parking lot of the Pentagon, the cascade of thunderous unity proceeded all the way around to the bridge at the Arlington Cemetery, a fitting finish for the memorial run. Cheering onlookers lining the street waving flags of support visibly moved the hardened vets as they rode past. In a solemn finale, Medal of Honor recipient Gary Wietzal offered a prayer for those still missing. This, then, was Rolling Thunder II.<\/p>

But those who accused the federal government of doing nothing on the POW\/MIA issue were wrong. Officials were in fact busily taking action. Unfortunately, the action taken was to move names off MIA lists into the killed column \u2013 not that any remains were being sought or unearthed.<\/p>

The game was more one of playing the odds, Pentagon style. If a POW did not turn up at the end of the war, passage of time increased the chances they wouldn\u2019t be showing up ever. So why waste time and money looking.<\/p>

This unconditional logic flew hard in the face of vets waiting for the chance to run rescues for those servicemen their Pentagon seemed to treat as out of sight, out of mind.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Champions of the Lost<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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From then on each annual event attracted greater numbers of vets, non-vets, bikers and non-bikers. But to call Rolling Thunder a motorcycle run is to grossly understate its impact. More and more, word got out that the various activists organizations affiliated with Rolling Thunder were the ones vets could turn for help in countless areas.<\/p>

Help with the small stuff \u2013 like who to call to get needed forms for the endless benefit jungle was hand in hand with bigger stuff, like how a family of a MIA could appeal the killed on paper status of their missing loved one. The Rolling Thunder movement had taken on a very real, very vital life of its own.<\/p>

Meanwhile, by 1991 the bike run just kept growing. The \u201991 Run To the Wall at Rolling Thunder IV was 45,000 strong, with an estimated 20,000 bikes taking part.<\/p>

Proudly flying the Stars and Stripes beside stark black POW\/MIA flags, riders cut a striking picture as black leather on blue jeans met shining chrome in a deafening thunder of unison.<\/p>

By now the Pentagon north parking lot had become something like a reunion spot for vets young and old alike.<\/p>

Often it was the only time old war buddies saw each other, and every year more familiar faces appeared. Each mile of pavement held special meaning for the thundering vet procession.<\/p>

It began at the Pentagon, military seat of the nation. Up and over the Memorial Bridge they rumbled, to descend down the street past the Capitol, where political policy dictated the fate of American soldiers since before these riders were born. Waves of bikes rolled along Constitution Avenue, symbolic of the rights and freedoms they committed to die for.<\/p>

The route wasn\u2019t complete without a pass by the Commander in Chief\u2019s place on Pennsylvania Avenue where White House executive orders mean ultimate life or death for American servicemen in conflicts a world away.<\/p>

In solemn tribute the cavalcade finally reached the Vietnam Vets Memorial where speakers gave voice to absent patriots: Lost in battle. Lost in shifting policy. Lost in paperwork. But lost in the hearts of these proud Americans who fought beside them? Never.<\/p>

On Capital Hill, professional number crunchers predicted the whole Rolling Thunder \u201cthing\u201d would fade fast like the insignificant fad they considered it to be. Those who didn\u2019t see it fading away wished very hard it would. After all, this was just a bunch of disgruntled vets out in force to make a little engine noise, right?<\/p>

Maybe the group\u2019s greatest strength was that nobody could convince them they would never be heard. Or maybe telling them they were doomed to fail fired up their \u201cnever say die\u201d American spirit. Whatever the reason, these guys, far from disappearing, just got stronger.<\/p>

Rolling Thunder VI (1993) took on international support, as bikers from other countries, including Australia, Canada and South Korea rode with the U.S.<\/p>

Over 50,000 motorcyclists made the run in 1994. With Rolling Thunder support, Delores Alfond, chairman of the National Alliance of POW\/MIA Families and Dan Wood, president of New Jersey Forget Me Nots attempted to hand deliver a letter to President Clinton. The message objected to the wink-eye policy that administration adopted toward Vietnam\u2019s dismal lack of honest POW\/MIA accountability.<\/p>

Blocked in their efforts to get the letter to the President, Rolling Thunder\u2019s leaders staged a roaring protest. As the bikes began to pass the White House, they slowed down, then halted when columns of bikes had filled the streets around the White House. For the next few minutes, the ear shattering roar of thousands of bikes revving their engines literally vibrated the windows of the White House.<\/p>

Ironically the patriotic protest staged in support of the men and women who put their lives on the line for America each day was generally dismissed as just rabble rousing by a Clintonisquely charmed press.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Like Grunts in the Long Mud<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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By 1995, Rolling Thunder support reached such proportions that it gained incorporation status. Muller and Don Luker made the organization officially non-profit and the national chapter became reality.<\/p>

State chapters burst up across America in rapid fire the following year. All positions were deliberately set up as non-paid, voluntary status. By definition, each charter agrees to help vets in need from all wars or conflicts, and adhere to the strict ethics of volunteer-based practice.<\/p>

According to Muller, winning government approval for the POW\/MIA postage stamp in 1995 marked an important triumph for the group. But the more members joined in the cause, the more work there was to be done. They learned political hardball knows no fair play.<\/p>

Muller says that Rolling Thunder members, led by Ted Shpak (Rolling Thunder legislative representative) and John Holland, sweated word for word on a bill known as the Missing Service Personnel Act of 1993. The bill was to guarantee that the government could not arbitrarily kill on paper missing servicemen without credible proof of death.<\/p>

Muller said they were absolutely stunned to later see a bill they all had worked so hard on literally gutted by Sen. John McCain, a Vietnam vet and former prisoner of war.<\/p>

But like grunts in the long mud, Rolling Thunder volunteers never stopped pushing.<\/p>

It took two more years, but by 1995, in an effort to revive the original intention of the 1993 bill, the grunts had put together 20 resolutions to create the Missing Personnel Act of 1995. In 1997, despite McCain\u2019s efforts to again sabotage the bill, 13 of the 20 resolutions passed intact.<\/p>

Meantime, each Memorial Day weekend Rolling Thunder run broke the previous year\u2019s attendance record. Year by year the numbers of state Rolling Thunder chapters continued to rise. When bikers revved up their cycles for the millennium 2000 run, the echo from the thundering bikes was heard for miles. That run marked several milestones in Rolling Thunder\u2019s proud history.<\/p>

The astounding 250,000 in attendance equaled a full hundredfold increase over the first year\u2019s tally. That fact alone amazed both detractors, who thought by now the crusty vets would surely have lost interest and concern for their missing men in arms, and supporters, who hoped against hope that by century\u2019s end, America would have honestly accounted for its missing servicemen.<\/p>

The year 2000 run gained a higher profile by the presence of Miss America, Heather French, who dedicated her reign to homeless veterans. She took her pageant platform championing veterans\u2019 rights seriously. When the bright-eyed beauty led the Rolling Thunder ride with her Vietnam vet dad Ron French, she brought even greater public focus to the cause she cared about.<\/p>

Members note that TV media coverage of the annual event had also grown from a mere 4 \u00bd seconds the first year to 4 \u00bd minutes for the 2000 ride.<\/p>

Although less than five minutes in the spotlight might not seem like a lot, in media terms, that\u2019s a whopping piece of press pie.<\/p>

Generally ignored by mainstream press is Rolling Thunder\u2019s stand that since the end of Vietnam War, over 10,000 reports of sightings of live Americans in bleak captivity were documented. They cite an ominous tradition in the fact that since Soviet-U.S. relations blossomed, reports were unearthed that live Americans remained in Soviet prison camps after World War II.<\/p>

American POWs of the Korean War era fared no better, according to many official documents, Korean War vets were also left in captivity after that dismal war. No wonder, the vets claim, that an organization based on and for advocacy of the average serviceman was so badly needed.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Rolling Thunder Continues to Grow<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Of course, some of the most important work Rolling Thunder does takes place far from the rolling cameras. During the 363 days between Memorial Day weekends, Rolling Thunder representatives lobby for laws which will ensure no American fighting men will ever be left alone on foreign soil after the shooting stops and the politicians shake hands. There\u2019s a tremendous irony in the fact that it is necessary to make it law for the military to account for its own.<\/p>

Muller notes with pride that Rolling Thunder joined POW\/MIA groups to press forward the passage of a bill assuring that federal government buildings would include the POW\/MIA flag in colors flown on national holidays. Journeys to far off former war zones like Vietnam are sponsored and staffed by Rolling Thunder efforts.<\/p>

Closer to home, volunteers regularly visit their local VA hospitals to bring meals, clothing, personal items and just old-fashioned companionship to hospitalized vets. Many of these patients have no visiting friends or relatives so the brotherhood of other vets is the only real family tie they enjoy.<\/p>

That it continues to grow in leaps and bounds says a lot for Rolling Thunder\u2019s success. The 39 state chapters in 2000 grew to 48 in early 2001. No one questions expectations that in short order every state in the Union will be fully represented by its own Rolling Thunder chapter.<\/p>

Still, Muller sees in its success a certain sadness. In Rolling Thunder Times, the organization\u2019s newsletter, he writes, \u201cI am sorry to say that Rolling Thunder XIV will be May 27th 2001. That means there are still POWs unaccounted for throughout the world.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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A Few Old Vets Not Going to Shut Up and Not Going Away<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Each rider comes with a different face and personal reason for attending the run. That\u2019s true for every Rolling Thunder member, including Walt Sides, one of the founding fathers of Rolling Thunder.<\/p>

\u201cI don\u2019t do interviews.\u201d Pretty much the first words out of Sides\u2019 mouth when he was first approached for this interview. His attitude gives proof to the way the retired Marine 1st sergeant regards his experience with the press. Sides learned his wariness of the media first hand, back when the movement first started, when coverage of the group was sketchy at best, and biased at worst.<\/p>

In the long run, Sides says, staying clear of the press has spared him a lot of grief from being misquoted. \u201cIf they\u2019ve decided what they\u2019re going to print before they talk to somebody, why even bother interviewing them?\u201d<\/p>

Far from being a holiday celebration, for Walt Sides, Rolling Thunder is serious business. \u201cIt\u2019s not a parade. It\u2019s a demonstration,\u201d he explains. To him the difference is important.<\/p>

At heart, he\u2019ll always remain the patriot loyal to his country, and declines to speak against any American president. \u201cI\u2019m 61,\u201d he notes, \u201cand I don\u2019t remember any bad president in my lifetime \u2013 no president who\u2019s had a bad effect on me or my family. They\u2019re just people after all.\u201d<\/p>

Yet he admits he looks forward to improved treatment for veterans under the new Bush presidency. \u201cI think we\u2019ll get a lot more for veterans from the new administration.\u201d He recalls bristling under other campaign rhetoric that touted the military as just fine the way it is.<\/p>

\u201cOur armed forces need a good overhaul,\u201d Sides adds.<\/p>

A common misunderstanding of Rolling Thunder is that it speaks only to issues of Vietnam. Sides is quick to point out the many other facets of veterans rights\u2019 it champions. The Desert Storm syndrome is only one example of why vets need the voice of Rolling Thunder speaking out for them.<\/p>

\u201cA lot of changes are needed in the VA, in the government\u2019s cover-up of Desert Storm\u2019s chemical effects on our men. It was 20 years owning up to the fact that Agent Orange undeniably affected Vietnam veterans. I\u2019m one of them.\u201d He sees the same resistance to accountability in withholding help for Desert Storm victims seeking benefits.<\/p>

It takes a lot to wear down a war-scarred veteran. But if anything can do it, it\u2019s beating one\u2019s head against the wall of bureaucratic VA red tape year after year. And that\u2019s just what happens in case after case of weary vets too tired and sick to fight for their so-called benefits.<\/p>

For them, the sound of Rolling Thunder is a lot like music to their ears. Rolling Thunder remembers the POWS and MIAs left behind in wars the politicians want badly to forget?<\/p>

There\u2019ll always be those who wish vets like these would just shut up and go away. But as Sides points out, \u201cFortunately we\u2019ve got some old hard core vets who\u2019re not going to shut up and are not going away.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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They Didn\u2019t Mind Losing a Few Good Men For a Little Glory<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A veteran of 21 years and two terms of Vietnam War service under his belt, Sides recounts a particularly striking Vietnam memory.<\/p>

\u201cI remember my last tour in Vietnam when they announced the war was ending, and they\u2019d be sending the troops home. Everybody was glad because we knew we\u2019d be going home. But the battalion commander just kept sending us out and sending us out, trying to get us in a firefight.<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019d been in the infantry 12-14 years, so it was obvious to me he was trying deliberately to get us into firefights. I\u2019ll always remember when it came to me. I was standing up on this mountain in Vietnam and the realization hit me: There are commanders not above losing a few good men to get a little glory.\u201d<\/p>

For soldiers like Sides, the issue of accountability of military authority hits very close to home. \u201cWhen the brass makes a mistake, they don\u2019t particularly want it advertised.\u201d<\/p>

Once home in the U.S., Sides \u2013 like many vets \u2013 put the experience behind him. \u201cIf I was in a room with say 30 people and the subject of Vietnam came up, I was out of there.\u201d<\/p>

But the lack of accountability for lost and missing servicemen eventually got the better of him. He says he came out of that closet of silence in the 1980s, along with lots of fellow vets.<\/p>

\u201cI thought back to that day on the mountaintop,\u201d he remembers, being sent into the firefight for the advancement of some commander\u2019s career. Sides admits the practice is by no means new.<\/p>

During the Civil War, President Lincoln was notorious for allowing his generals to use U.S. soldiers like cannon fodder and there have always been problems with U.S. prisoners of war being abandoned.<\/p>

Still it seemed to Sides if our own government disavowed their existence, and if veterans didn\u2019t stand up for their own, who would?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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From a Mountaintop in Nam to Rolling Thunder in the Streets of Washington<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Sides gives credit to Ray Manzo for the thundering cycles through D.C. concept that has become the hallmark of Rolling Thunder\u2019s unity statement. His first meeting with Manzo left a lasting impression.<\/p>

\u201cI remember it was a pretty sunny, warm day. I can still see him walking up the steps toward us.\u201d Sides was manning a POW\/MIA vigil along with fellow veterans John Holland and Ted Sampley on the capital commons in an effort to get public support for the MIA and POW issue.<\/p>

It\u2019s an old truth that a Marine can always spot a fellow Marine, no matter how out of uniform or far away. Sides laughs that he picked Manzo as a leatherneck right away.<\/p>

\u201cHe looked just like a Marine climbing those steps,\u201d Sides claims, \u201ckinda dumb looking, with a look that said: Boys, I need some help. He had an idea. Could we do a run of motorcycles for the cause? v\u201dWe looked at each other and said: Let\u2019s do it!\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Rolling Thunder Struck a Common Chord in the Hearts of Vets<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Despite the fact that neither Holland nor Sides were bikers, the idea seemed to be the right thing at the right time at the right place. \u201cJohn had a lot of knowledge,\u201d Sides adds, referring to Holland\u2019s expertise in getting things done in D.C.<\/p>

But where would the bikers all come from? \u201cRay said if we could set it up, he\u2019d bring the bikers.\u201d And bring the bikers he did. The fledgling group split up the work, contacting the parks service, getting permits and printing up flyers. It would be some nine months later that the rugged Marine\u2019s dream became Rolling Thunder.<\/p>

From as far away as Oregon and California they came, from back country dusty hollows and big bustling cities, some came alone, some rode in cycle convoys. Many joined up as they met on the long road to Washington, and rode the rest of the way together in one common goal.<\/p>

Rolling Thunder had somehow struck a chord in the hearts of vets everywhere from all walks of life. That year the bikes first ran, it was hard to count the numbers roaring into D.C. from America\u2019s heartlands.<\/p>

\u201cWe thought 2500 bikes on the first run was a whole bunch,\u201d Sides explains. Little could the Rolling Thunder\u2019s founding fathers know then the movement would grow each year to the expected 200,000 in 2001. \u201cEach run it\u2019s gotten bigger and bigger and bigger.\u201d<\/p>

As Rolling Thunder expanded, so did its support base. Where at first veterans had to stick their necks way out to demonstrate for their own, now a good part of the riders are civilian. Thousands of Americans come out to give very public thanks for the sacrifices of veterans like these, as well as those not yet accounted for.<\/p>

So what keeps vets like Walt Sides from just packing up and quietly going away? According to him, it\u2019s pretty simple:<\/p>

\u201cIf we turn and walk silently away, nothing will ever change,\u201d he maintains. \u201cThat\u2019s why we can never just turn and walk away.\u201d<\/p>

All in all, pretty eloquent words for an old retired Marine, who doesn\u2019t give interviews.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

History Into the 21st Century and Riding On Timeline to Unity Champions of the Lost Rolling Thunder Continues to Grow They Didn\u2019t Mind Losing a Few Good Men For a Little Glory Rolling Thunder Struck a Common Chord in the Hearts of Vets Leave No One Behind Four and a Half Seconds of Fame Like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mc_calendar":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-28","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rollingthunderin6.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rollingthunderin6.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rollingthunderin6.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rollingthunderin6.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rollingthunderin6.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/rollingthunderin6.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178,"href":"https:\/\/rollingthunderin6.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28\/revisions\/178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rollingthunderin6.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}