Rolling Thunder - 2006

Today Jeff and I did the Rolling Thunder motorcycle event. It's a legal demonstration to promote the importance of benefits and government support for Veterans and more importantly to remember the POW/MIA's that are still not home. Jeff is very proud of his military experience and this event reinforces the already strong sense duty and honor he feels for his time served.

Last night we sat outside the hotel watching bikers come in from around the country. Most staying in our hotel came from New Jersey and Ohio but there were a few other states also represented. Some older men were sitting on a park bench next to us discussing their military experience and comparing stories. When the conversation turned to Rolling Thunder they talked about how they preferred to go down by the mall and watch the motorcycles come in instead of actually do any riding in the event. One guy was pretty negative about the whole thing. He said he spent 5 hours just waiting in the Pentagon parking lot to ride the 30-minute route to the Vietnam Wall because there were 400,000 bikes there for the ride. He also said that the parking lot was enclosed by highway on all sides so it gets unbearably hot just sitting on the black asphalt as the sun beat down with no air circulation. On a positive note, he did mention the reward as you ride past about 150,000 clapping and cheering people lined up along the streets.

We were told by another rider to meet at the local Harley dealer at 10 AM for a police escort to the Pentagon parking lot. We thought that was a good idea so we didn't have to figure out the way to the Pentagon on our own. And a two hour wait for the start didn't sound so bad. The old man told us that it was a good idea to ride with the Harley group as they would end up in the North parking lot and the North lot goes first. With 400,000 bikes going down the streets in pairs, it would obviously take a long time for all of them to get out. So if we were located towards the beginning of the pack, the wait might only be a few hours instead of more than 5. The old guy claimed that he was still waiting at 4 in the afternoon to get to the Wall. Good thing we were going with the Harley group, because that sounded awful. He also mentioned that the ride from the Harley dealership left at 9, not 10 so we needed to be aware that if we got there at 10 we would be too late. Sounds like all good information to me.

We stopped at a McDonald’s for some coffee, as it turns out, their new coffee is fantastic. We met a couple from the area, Mike and Sippi. They were enthusiastic about Rolling Thunder but since they were locals they did mention that if it was raining they would have stayed in bed. Not an option for us. Mike gave us some good information for the touristy part of our visit then the couple headed out to the Harley dealership. We finished our coffee and looked forward to meeting up with them again.

We headed to the Harley dealer, but our directions from the HOG website were not quite accurate. Good thing we left way early because it was 8:40 by the time we got there. There was just enough time to hit the porta-potties and get back on the bike. As we waited in the line of bikes we were approached by Mike and Sippi. As it turns out, his tire blew out on the ride over to the dealership. Luckily they were ok, but unfortunately that was the end of their ride. I took their photo just before we rode away. I was disappointed that we wouldn’t get to know more about them.

The police escort was great, only I wish I would have paid more attention to how we got there to make the ride back easier. Oh well. When we got to the Pentagon lot we parked in the order that we arrived. We got off the bike and started to walk the lot checking out all the vendor booths along our path. As we crossed the road to the other parking lot we were in for a rude awakening. The North lot was not the first lot to go through the parade route, it was the last! This meant a long, long wait for our time to ride. But to bide our time we found a nice grassy spot to sit and view the bikes. We took lots of photos and met some people from Orlando. The conversation started out with, "What branch were you in?", followed by a discussion of service, the military, and the experiences encountered during that time. Over the years, I've discovered that this is as standard with veterans as the phrase, "how are you today?". The good conversation and the people-watching really made the time go by. We got there around 10 and here it was 11:45 already. The Rolling Thunder dignitaries were mounting their bikes, the blessing at the beginning of the ride was said, by then it was noon and they were off.

We watched the bikes start their ride to the Wall and said goodbye to our new Orlando friends. We sat on the divider wall in this grassy area for a long time, realizing that it wasn't as hot as the old man had mentioned because of the breeze blowing off the highway. This wasn't as bad as he had made it out to be. Before you knew it, most of the bikes were cleared out of the first lot and we thought we better head over to the North lot by our bike. We stopped in the shade for a while to watch the final bikes move out of the South lot. We met a man from Maryland while we were hanging out. He gave us great directions back to our hotel and we had an interesting discussion about September 11th and the events following the attack. He was really interesting. He showed us where the plane hit the Pentagon and talked about how tough his wife's commute to the city was. Before you knew it, we were running back to our bikes because it was our turn in the parade. And believe it or not, it wasn’t even 2:00. The old man was wrong again.

We rode down the city streets to a cheering crowd. There was a Marine in full dress blues standing in the middle of the street at attention, rifle and helmet strategically placed in front of him - a symbol of missing in action. The Marine was saluting as we passed by. He stood in that pose for the entire parade. Just the discipline to stand there for hours was pretty amazing but the intense heat with the temperature hovering around 85 must have made it more difficult. It has a moving effect that reminds us why we’re there. It was really fun to slap hands with the spectators, the interaction made it feel more personal. The streets weren’t as crowded as I had anticipated, again the old man was wrong. I would estimate the crowd in the low thousands but there’s no way 150,000 were watching us go by. Maybe that can be attributed to the heat and the length of the parade. Maybe there were more people during the first hour.

So far most information we’ve been given has been wrong. But that’s ok, his unhappiness in the experience was our gain. We really enjoyed being part of something as monumental and dramatic as this.

We parked our bike at the end of the parade and it was only 2:30 in the afternoon. We spent the rest of the day touring the mall. The Korean War memorial was impressive, to me even more so than the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Maybe that’s because my dad was in the Korean War. Just take a look at this picture and you can decide for yourself.

The World War II Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial Wall are both meaningful and unique in their creation. All of the memorials have their distinct features. I found the Korean War Memorial a passionate reflection of those who served; the World War II Memorial was massive in its representation, which really gave you this sense of the enormity of that war. The Vietnam Wall is a sight to behold; the seemingly never-ending names on the wall reflect those who have given their lives for our freedom and the somberness of the crowd is moving in itself. I traced the name of a co-worker’s dad; he was one of the early casualties of the war so he is located on the very first panel. I was sobbing by the time I finished.

We walked to the top of the Lincoln Memorial and strolled by the Washington Monument. Jeff just had to stick his hand in the reflection pool. Then we headed back to the hotel for a swim, dinner, and relaxation. It was a memorable experience that would remain in our hearts and minds for many years to come.