Click for the slide show: Rolling Thunder 2010 on Constitution Avenue NW and the National Mall. (Luis Gomez Photos)
No, Rolling Thunder does not occur in the Dupont-Logan-U Street area, but we have seen and heard a fair number of visitors on hogs the past several days. The group comes to DC each Memorial Day weekend and holds its annual parade on Sunday. It is “dedicated to the search of American soldiers who are prisoners of war ‘POW’/missing in action ‘MIA’ ” and contains many veterans of the Vietnam War.
Our photos are from today’s Rolling Thunder parade down Constitution Avenue NW and riders with their bikes on The National Mall.
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Just like Major Dick Cole stated . . . I feel like I had my homecoming in DC with the Rolling Thunder riders last weekend. I returned from Vietnam & Southeast Asia in 1973—but many friends did not. This tremendously moving event culminated with my second visit to The Wall since it was created—and I found much more peace this time. My lost comrades would be proud of the Rolling Thunder riders . . . I know I was, I am, and I always will be. Next year, I plan to join them! Your photos of the 2010 event were awesome! Thanks for inspiring me.
Steve Michael (Danang AB, VN – 1972, Operation Linebacker II)
USAF (Reserves) Retired
Luis:
Fantastic shots! I was riding in the demonstration, so there was no way for me to see from this perspective. These were fantastic!
I was crying most of the route…it was my first time participating in RT and I did two Vietnam tours. As soon as I saw the Soldier saluting us as we hit the Memorial Bridge, I lost it and cried like a baby most of the way. I felt like I got my homecoming yesterday…almost 40 years after the fact.
Thanks for sharing you pictures. If you decide to sell any, I would be interested as a keepsake of my participation.
Warm Regards,
Dick Cole
Major, USAF, Ret.
Thank you very much. Luis enjoys photographing this event each year. He has a brother who served in the Army and Marines (two tours in Iraq).