Run for the Wall participants prepare for annual event

The annual Run for the Wall will roar across the United States from California to Washington, D.C., starting on May 15.

The Run for the Wall was started in 1989 as an effort by Vietnam veterans James Gregory and Bill Evans, who traveled across the United States on motorcycles to talk to local radio stations, TV stations and newspapers about the thousands of men and women still unaccounted for from all U.S. wars.

It was rumored that this is the last year for the Run for the Wall. That is incorrect. Rather, Rolling Thunder, a 2-mile demonstration parade held the Sunday before Memorial Day in Washington, D.C., will not continue after this year.

In a letter posted to the RFTW.us website, directors make their intentions to keep the Run for the Wall going for years to come. The directors wrote:

“Run for the Wall will operate all of its routes in 2019… AND BEYOND (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and so on). We will always ride to Washington, D.C. every Year. We will always lay our ‘Mission Complete’ Plaque at the apex of the Vietnam Memorial Wall. We will still go to Arlington National Cemetery. We will still wash The Wall. We will still gather on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for a group photo. We will always welcome anyone that wants to ride with us and join us on any of our three routes, especially our younger veterans. We will always Ride for Those Who Can’t.”

OOIDA member David Talley will be one of the thousands participating in the annual event for the 13th time. He recently visited with Land Line Now’s Mary McKenna to talk his experiences participating in the Run for the Wall.

Run for the Wall takes three routes across the United States starting in Ontario, Calif., on May 14 and ending in Washington, D.C., on May 25.