The Rolling Thunder Story
In the fall of 1987 in a little diner in
Somerville, New Jersey, two Vietnam veterans met to discuss their
personal concerns about the prisoners of war (POW) and missing in action (MIA) from the Vietnam
War. Having honorably served their country, and having taken an oath to
“support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all
enemies...” and to “bear true faith and allegiance to
same,” they were deeply troubled by the abhorrent neglect of
attention given to those who did not make it out with their lives or
their freedom. These two veterans discussed the more than 10,000
reported sightings of live Americans living in dismal captivity.
Intelligence reports of these sightings were generally ignored by the
government and mainstream press. These two veterans were Artie Muller
and Ray Manzo.
The First Rolling Thunder Demonstration
Artie and Ray were ordinary men who understood that
they had a right to have their voices heard and proceeded to lay down
the plans for a gathering in Washington, D.C., during the 1988 Memorial Day
weekend. They reached out to their families, fellow veterans and
veteran’s advocates to unify and form a march and demonstration
in our nation’s Capital. Their arrival would be announced by the
roar of their motorcycles, a sound not unlike the 1965 bombing campaign
against North Vietnam dubbed Operation Rolling Thunder. Hence, they
would call themselves “Rolling Thunder” a title that would
endure time and be trademarked in 1990. Word spread quickly and by
Memorial Day weekend in 1988, approximately 2,500 motorcycles from all
over the country converged on Washington, D.C. to demand from our
leaders a full accounting of all POW/MIA’s. As they made their
stand that day in front of the Capitol, Artie and Ray reflected
thankfully for the people who came in support of the POW/MIA issue, and
for the unity that was felt. This was Rolling Thunder’s first
demonstration. Only until ALL POW/MIA’s ARE ACOUNTED FOR, it will
not be their last. On that day, the foundation was laid for the annual
“Ride for Freedom” to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial
Wall (also referred to as the “Ride to the Wall”).
Rolling Thunder Today
The number of participants/spectators in the
Memorial Day weekend Ride for Freedom has grown from 2,500 to an
estimated 850,000. Incorporated in 1995, Rolling Thunder, Inc. is a class 501(c)(4)
non-profit organization with over 88 chartered chapters throughout the
United States and members abroad. While many members of Rolling Thunder are
veterans, and many ride motorcycles, neither qualification is a
prerequisite. Rolling Thunder members are old and young, men and women, veterans
and non-veterans. All are united in the cause to bring full
accountability for POWs and MIAs of all wars, reminding the government, the media
and the public by our watchwords: “We Will Not Forget.” No
officers or members of Rolling Thunder receive compensation; we all
donate our time.
