rolling thunder

Memorial Day weekend is one of the best times to be in the DC metro area- it’s really quite inspiring. One of the highlights of the weekend events is “Rolling Thunder” when THOUSANDS of motorcycle riding war vets to from the Pentagon to the Vietnam Vets Memorial via Constitution Ave to raise awareness of POW/MIA issues. The motorcycles run goes on for hours and spectators cheer on every vet that passes by. It’s really indescribable- the emotion of the people who participate and the people who watch. It’s an undiluted reminder of national pride tinged with sadness for the people lost and forgotten.

We always think of war and those who died fighting a battle on our behalf (whether we agree with the need or not) but it’s the people who return that don’t often get the limelight. But when you see thousands and thousands of them together, some with obvious injuries and others with internal ones, that it’s really driven home- these are real people just like us, not just some statistic on the news.