Rolling & Remembering, 2021

Since 1988, on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, the streets of Washington DC have reverberated with the roar of thousands of motorcyclists commemorating Americans lost in the Vietnam conflict and other wars, in an event most often know as Rolling Thunder. This year the AmVets will sponsor the cycle run, now known as Rolling to Remember. A smaller cycle run, Ride of the Patriots, will start across the Potomac in Fairfax, VA, and join up with the main group.

________________________
Short Link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-xbS

Image (“Power”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

Rolling Thunder

Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally
Sunday, May 25, 2014

Departure from the Pentagon 12:00 Noon for Reflecting Pool via Memorial Bridge
Speaker Program and Musical Tribute 1:30 p.m. at the Reflecting Pool across from The Lincoln Memorial.

More information here

2014 Buffalo Thunder Memorial Motorcycle Ride
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Departure from Sears parking, 2101 Brightseat Road, Hyattsville, MD 10:00 AM for the African American Civil War Memorial

African American Civil War Memorial and Museum, 1925 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC

_______________________________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-jmd

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

 

Rolling Thunder 2012

Rolling Thunder will be heard in Washington on Sunday at Noon. The motorcycle column will leave the Pentagon Parking Lot and cross Memorial Bridge to the National Mall area.

Organizers have arranged a stage on the south side of the Reflecting Pool, near the Korean War Veterans Memorial. A program of speakers and music begins as 1:30 PM, but nothing matches the sound of hundreds of bikes crossing the bridge.

Official schedule here.

More:

“Rolling Thunder rumbles to mark Memorial Day,” USA Today (photos)

“25th Rolling Thunder comes roaring into Washington,” WTOP Radio

“Photos: Rolling Thunder,” Matt Dunn, Washington City Paper blog (slide show)

“For Honor, With Torque: Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally,” DCist

“Rolling Thunder – Memorial Day . WDC,”   Flickr photo pool

“Parents of captured U.S. soldier lead Washington motorcycle rally,” Stacey Samuel, CNN

______________
Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-ddO

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Rolling Plunder: Palin in DC

Sarah Palin successfully stole the thunder from the annual Rolling Thunder event honoring America’s war dead. In leathers and heels, she rode pillion on a Harley and crossed Memorial Bridge from Arlington to the National Mall.

Rolling Thunder 2011

Rolling Thunder will be heard in Washington on Sunday at Noon. The motorcycle column will leave the Pentagon Parking Lot and cross Memorial Bridge to the National Mall area.

Organizers have arranged a stage on the south side of the Reflecting Pool, near the Korean Memorial. A program of speakers and music begins as 1:30 PM, but nothing matches the sound of hundreds of bikes crossing the bridge.

Official schedule here. 

More:

“Get ready for the rumble,” WJLA-TV

 “Rolling Thunder brings motorcycles to Washington,” Hank Silverberg, WTOP News

“Rolling Thunder: Share Your Photos,” Washington Post

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Rolling Thunder 2010

Rolling Thunder descends on the Nations Capital this weekend. Every Memorial Day weekend since 1987, thousands of motorcycles roar through Arlington and Washington in memory of America’s POWs and MIAs.  The highlight of the XXIII Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally will be on Sunday, May 30th, when thousands ride from the Pentagon across Memorial Bridge to the Vietnam Memorial.

More:

Rolling Thunder Run website.

“Rolling Thunder 2010 – Motorcycle Rally in Washington, DC,” Rachel Cooper, About.com. (See Rachel Cooper’s great photos of the event).

“Street Closings for 2010 Rolling Thunder First Amendment Motorcycle Ride,” Fox-5 News.

“Hog Heaven Outside the Hilton,” ARLnow.com

“Humana Veterans Healthcare Services Sponsors Rolling Thunder XXIII in Washington, D.C.,” MarketWatch.

 

Update: Gene Bonventre has uploaded photos of the event to flickr.

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Rolling Thunder 2009

Rolling Thunder is back. The annual motorcycle event, originally conceived to draw attention to the plight of Vietnam-era POWs and MIAs (“Operation Rolling Thunder” was the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam) but it has grown into a roaring tribute to all of America’s military veterans.

Contingents of cyclists come from across the country, and salutes roar past armed service monuments. The largest tribute starts at Noon Sunday at Arlington Cemetery, crosses the Potomac over the beautiful Memorial Bridge, circles the National Mall, and stops near the Vietnam Memorial, where many riders will dismount, then quietly look for the names of fallen comrades and loved ones on The Wall. Music and oratory will complete the afternoon.

Many Washingtonians bring cameras to the DC end of Memorial Bridge to shoot “The Ride for Freedom,” but many hesitate to photograph dismounted riders at the Vietnam Memorial — it feels emotionally wrong, an invasion of privacy. But do go to The Wall. Unlike the triumphal military monuments spread across the Capital City, it does not glorify war, but memorializes sacrifice in a profoundly human way.

 

For more on the meaning of the National Vietnam Memorial, read The Last Firebase, by Lydia Fish.

Image by Mike Licht.

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.