Yes, I know that this is nearly a month late – it’s been a crazy last two months to some degree for every family member here at Chateau D’ Bob, so if you’d be kind enough to roll with this I’d appreciate it.
Shortly before Memorial Day I read some terrible news:
Muller, who served with the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam and runs the event out of his home in Neshanic, New Jersey, said it costs about $200,000 to stage Rolling Thunder, which draws riders from across the nation.
He said the costs include installations for porta-potties and the $30,000 fee charged by the Defense Department for parking at the Pentagon before the annual Sunday ride from there across the Memorial Bridge, four-abreast, to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall.
Muller also said riders have increasingly complained of harassment by Pentagon security and the Washington, D.C., police.
Losing this tradition hits me personally. “But Brother Bob”, you may be asking, “You’re neither a veteran nor have you ever ridden a bike. How is this personal for you?” Fair question. Back in my eight years as a weekend tour guide, I was a regular fixture on Saturday mornings around The National Mall, giving some offbeat stories to foreign travelers about US history. I was out almost every weekend, and while I was not out every weekend I tried to be out whenever I could. That said, there was one weekend I absolutely refused to miss, and that was Memorial Day weekend. Seeing veterans roaming the various war memorials while telling foreigners about our history behind each of them gave a great appreciation for what they did.
The most moving though, was being at The Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial – seeing grizzled bikers breaking down in tears is almost impossible to describe unless you were there. Nothing on the level of what they experience of course, but hopefully you get the idea. I know that a few times I had trouble holding it together giving my talks around the Memorial. I’m sure that my charges on my tour groups caught on this, and that’s not a complaint. And fittingly, my final tour was on the Memorial Day after Little Bob was born. Even though my life has moved on and I don’t miss touring anymore, the one day I truly do miss is Memorial Day weekend. Back when I was touring I lived in the Rosslyn neighborhood, just on the VA side of the DC border. Being that I lived just off the highway between downtown and the parking lot for The Pentagon (where many of our guests parked), Memorial Day weekend was a steady buzz of engines I could hear outside my window that ran from Friday afternoon until some time Monday when our 500,000 guests left town. If I had to drive by there for any reason, The Pentagon parking lot was a sea of hogs. And of course, the weekend also meant seeing veterans everywhere around town, proudly showing their colors. Even now, we live just off of one of the main highways that Rolling Thunder uses to cruise into town, and on Sunday morning the whole family walks out to the nearby overpass to wave to the incoming bikers.
And now it’s gone. Or is it?
The president, who is traveling in Japan, vowed Sunday that the 30-year tradition would continue in Washington, D.C., after the group said rising costs for permits would force them to move the motorcycle ride elsewhere next year.
“The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be. Have a wonderful time today. Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out!” Trump tweeted Sunday morning.
Trump vowed Saturday to help the organization obtain the necessary permits for the annual Memorial Day weekend event, which features tens of thousands of bikers riding from the Pentagon to the National Mall, paying tribute to fallen U.S. service members.
“Can’t believe that Rolling Thunder would be given a hard time with permits in Washington, D.C. They are great Patriots who I have gotten to know and see in action. They love our Country and love our Flag. If I can help, I will!” Trump wrote.
As I’ve blogged many a time before, as someone who came of age in Jersey back in the 80s, I am all too familiar with our president’s habit of communicating via his sphincter muscle. But that said, if ever there’s been a politician who would actually back up this kind of talk, it would be President Trump.
Let’s hope that’s the case.
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Cross posted from Brother Bob’s Blog
I would hazard a guess that Trump will follow up and support this; until a law is passed blocking him from doing so.
I think as long as Trump is President Rolling Thunder will ride. I did not know it was so expensive to put on the event.
ever been to The Wall?? two of my closest buddies from Nam are on the Wall. it as a moving experience to find the name of your friends who sacrificed their lives for America
@Deplorable Me: Or maybe a Hawaiian judge will decree that Rolling Thunder needs to end
@kitt: Yeah, I had no idea it cost so much either. It would be a damned shame if this year was the end
@Brother Bob: If the cost was 200K and 500K show up sell a yearly patch or pin with a 2 dollar mark up. There are plenty of ways to raise cash.
@Brother Bob: Yeah, it could be a kiss of death for them if Trump expresses support for them.
@kitt: How much would it hurt Hollywood to collect and donate the funds? Think that could ever happen?
@MOS#8541: Dude, you did catch that I was a tour guide, right? =8^)
Yeah, according to my database (Yes, I’m the kind of dork who kept a database of every guest from my tour groups), I walked through the Vietnam Memorial 208 times during my 8 year run. And that’s not counting all of the times I’ve been through just visiting. It still blows my mind that one of our most beloved memorials was disliked when its design was first announced.
@Deplorable Me: Gone are the days of hollywood being patriotic, Bob Hope and selling warbond stuff,.
@Brother Bob:
Excellent article. And I understand your emotion when viewing the Viet Nam War Memorial. On one of my trips to D.C. I visited the Memorial looking for the name of a young man from my small town who died at the Battle of la Drang.
I also have to mention the Korean War Memorial which gets little press. I was there just at dusk and I swear, those statues looked like real men who were getting ready to move forward. Eerie and impacting.
@retire05: Many thanks. At the Korean Memorial I used to tell my charges that if you visited the memorial at night when it’s raining or snowing, the way the light hits the water it looks like the troops are actually marching toward you. On one of my tours one of the volunteer rangers came over to talk to me and my group. It turns out he was one of the Project Managers over the construction of the memorial back in the 80s.
Not completely forgotten