Memorial Day veterans’ motorcycle ride set to return in May, if Pentagon approve

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Thousands of veterans advocates are set to renew their annual Memorial Day motorcycle ride around the National Mall next month, but they're still waiting on Pentagon planners to respond to requests for help making the event safe amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"These people are coming no matter what," said Joe Chenelly, national executive director of AMVETS, organizers of the Rolling to Remember rally. "This is something that means a lot to people. So we're trying to make sure there is a safe, responsible environment for them."

The motorcycle parade is the successor to the annual Rolling Thunder ride which was held for 32 years to draw attention to American service members still missing in action from wars overseas.

The event was one of the largest annual veterans events in America, routinely drawing tens of thousands of riders to the National Mall each Memorial Day weekend. But organizers ended the tradition in 2019, citing the growing costs of crowd control and a lack of consistent cooperation from leaders at the Pentagon, whose parking lot was used as a pre-parade staging area.

The AMVETS event, designed to highlight both POW/MIA troops and veterans who died by suicide, was held with just a few dozen riders last year, in the early days of the pandemic. This year's event is expected to draw a crowd of about 10,000 riders on May 30.


Read more at: MilitaryTimes.com