Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – Lots of people and organizations stepped up offering to pay to keep Rolling Thunder in D.C. after the director said Sunday’s ride was the last in the city because it’s become too expensive. Rolling Thunder Inc. National spokesperson Nancy Regg said they’re overwhelmed by the generosity of Wreaths Across America and others, but plans to discontinue the D.C. ride have not changed. Regg said it’s not just about the ride’s $200,000 price tag.
“We’re sad to leave D.C. It’s 32 years, but we just can’t do it anymore,” Regg told WMAL Monday morning.
She said there were plenty of tears at Sunday’s final ride in the District as people said goodbye to friends from around the nation that they’d made over the years by participating in the ride to raise awareness about POWs, those missing in action and other veteran’s issues.
“I’m 74 now, and, you know, there’s a lot out there that are older than me, and they can’t ride all that far,” Vietnam veteran and founder of the Rolling Thunder organization Artie Muller told WMAL last week.
Regg said many of the Vietnam veterans are getting older, and those with health issues had a difficult time in Sunday’s sunshine and heat.
Last week Muller said the $200,000 cost for the ride had made it prohibitively expensive, and the money could be better used to directly help veterans. He cited the rising cost of security – now around $30,000 – in the Pentagon parking lot where bikers gather before taking off for their ride around the National Mall.
When people learned the news, many offered to help.
First Saturday President Donald Trump Tweeted:
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2019
Then Sunday before the final ride, he Tweeted:
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2019
Regg said a restaurant owner came to them in the Pentagon parking lot to offer to pay to preserve the annual tradition along with others. Monday morning the executive director of Wreaths Across America, Karen Worcester, surprised Muller on Fox and Friends and said her organization would give Rolling Thunder Inc. $200,000.
“We appreciate that, and we’ve been working with them for years,” Muller replied on the show.
Afterwards, Regg told WMAL the organization would move forward with its original plan to have chapters hold smaller rallies in their cities and regions throughout the country. Chapters in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee are already planning to hold a regional event according to Regg.
“We’ll get more exposure. We’ll get people that have never been before,” Regg said.
She believes this will allow more people to learn about their mission to help bring POWs and those missing in action home along with raising awareness of other veteran’s issues, including suicide.
The most recent numbers from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in 2016, indicate an average of 20 veterans take their lives each day.
Despite not wanting to continue the ride in the District, Regg said they do hope to meet with President Trump soon to discuss veteran’s issues and see if there’s way to collaborate with him to help those who have served the country.
Muller said the rally had much success over the years and prompted Congress to pass numerous bills, including one that brought Jessica Lynch and five other POWS captured during the Iraq war home.
Copyright 2019 WMAL. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: AP)
