SILER CITY — Some 200 motorcycles flowed into and through Siler City last Wednesday for a stop on the 30th annual Run for the Wall event.
The riders — many were veterans — were already showing the wear from a ride across the country to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. They ranged in age, race and gender, but formed a tight group, connected by the experience and by the cause: honoring Vietnam prisoners of war and soldiers declared missing in action.
It’s a brotherhood, and a sisterhood, that goes beyond different biker clubs, different states, and different branches of the military. Warm, welcoming, and appreciative, the brood was impressive to see and reminded those on their path of the ultimate sacrifice of our veterans lost.
Each year since 1989, Run for the Wall participants have been making a 10-day journey from Ontario, California, to Washington, D.C., on the long Memorial Day weekend. Along the ride, the participants stop at memorials, veterans hospitals and schools along the route. Some host towns hold parades, hold receptions, and even provide escorts for the motorcycle caravan.
There are three different routes riders for the journey with the midway route stopping in Siler City. In the end, all three converged in Washington on Memorial Day weekend, meeting at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Then all the participants walked to the Vietnam Memorial to complete their mission.
In Siler City, the group stopped at the Pentecostal Holiness Church for lunch, a stop that has been part of the route since Siler City first joined the Run for the Wall itinerary in 2014. The church’s pastor, Mark Richardson, has been participating in Run for the Wall since 2011 and is largely the reason it stops in town.
Not only does the church host the lunch each year, several members participate on the ride either on motorcycles or in support vehicles. Two husband and wife teams from the church are members of chase teams, groups that follow the motorcyclists with dozens more playing other support roles. Richardson, who is a member of the event’s chaplain corps, estimates about 50 members of the church are on the ground supporting the event.
“It is a ride that makes a bold statement to remember our POWs and MIAs,” he said. “It’s also to promote healing for the veterans. We also honor POW families all across America and do outreach.”
Church member Jeff Webster also participated on the ride this year.
“We do it for the veterans, for those who can’t ride, for those who lost lives, for those in the service now,” he said.
In Siler City, riders shared their motivation for taking part.
John Gebhards, who lives in St. Louis, has been participating with Run for the Wall for 22 years. This year he joined first on the southern route in Louisiana, then met up with the Midway route.
“I miss the camaraderie of the military, the friendship of the group,” Gebhards said. “The POW issue is brough to the front. It’s a small way to keep the idea alive. The welcome we receive in Siler City is unbelievable, truly unbelievable. It’s the smaller towns that really help you keep faith in America.”
Noah King, whose father, uncle, and grandfather who have been participating in the ride since he was in middle school, was finally invited to go with them — to which his father mumbled, “It’s the first time you had a Harley.”
“This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “I’m hooked now. I’ll be back every year.”
Mary Witty and Linda Ledoux of Louisiana joined in Amarillo, Texas. Both women are members of a female motorcycle club and noted that several of the club members had participated in Run for the Wall and spoke so highly of it. So the two were inspired to participate.
“Both of my parents were WWII vets and my son was in the army,” Witty said. “My son was going to come with me, but he died in 2011 so I stopped for a while, but I came back. The camaraderie is so unique and wonderful. I get a glimpse of what my parents and son saw.”
“I have three uncles who died in war and a brother in the military,” Ledoux said. “When the ladies [of the motorcycle club] talked about the patriotism across the country, I knew I had to do it.”
“This is one of the hardest riding you’ll ever do,” Witty said. “It’s tight formations, but it’s organized because it’s military.”
This year, the tour welcomed not just motorcyclists, but drivers of slingshots, an open air roadster which is sometimes called a three-wheeled motorcycle.
“It’s excellent,” Vance “Troublemaker” Pritchett, who joined in Las Vegas for his first Run for the Wall this year. “All these motorcyclists going across the country. We ride slingshots and now we’re with them. They all accepted us.”
After lunch, the crew headed to an event at Chatham Middle School before heading to the Falcon Children’s Home in Cumberland County, a transitional home for children. They were accompanied by members of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and the Buffalo Soldiers of Fayetteville. The Buffalo Soldiers are an African American Motorcycle club named to honor the Buffalo soldier — African American soldiers who mainly served on the Western frontier following the American Civil War. In 1866, six all-black cavalry and infantry regiments were created after Congress passed the Army Organization Act.
“I do this because it’s for the veterans,” said Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis Wright, who rode a motorcycle for the event. “You have everyone getting together. It’s great.”
This year was Buffalo Soldier Anor “Chief” Burnside’s fourth year escorting riders from Siler City to Fayetteville. He also has 34 years of military service.
“We do it for the same reason they do it — for the veterans that served before us,” he said. “We ride because they can’t ride. It’s also about fellowship.”
Fellow Buffalo Soldier Vaniesa “Lil Swole” G.C. Price was participating for the first time and was “very excited about it,” noting that “the food is good too.”
The event also brought community, business, and government leaders to share in a meal and the camaraderie.
“We enjoy serving those who served,” Chatham County Sheriff Mike Roberson said. “The people of Chatham County and at Pentecostal Holiness Church in Siler City do a wonderful job of serving the members of the Ride to the Wall. Our community roles out the red carpet — a steak dinner and even peach cobbler. What a wonderful place to live that supports those who served and continue to serve our country.”
“I attend each year to show respect to the veterans who are bringing attention to the U.S. Military,” Siler City Mayor John Grimes said. “They ride to Washington to bring attention to those who laid down their lives in order to keep our country safe and its people free. And also to the veterans who were and are willing to lay down their lives so that the United States remains free and strong.”
Grimes also attends for reasons that are more personal.
“[Run for the Wall] means that three generations of my family and I are appreciated,” he said. “During WWII, my mom had a husband, two brothers, a sister and three brother-in-laws who volunteered for service. All served in hostile territories and all came home. God Bless America.”
“I think this is a great event for a remarkable cause,” Siler City Mayor Pro-Tem Larry Cheek said. “It is an honor for them to stop in Siler City on their way to Washington, D.C. Run for the Wall honors our service men and women for the sacrifices they have made for our country. All the citizens of Siler City should be appreciative of their contributions.”
Mark Reif, Mountaire Farms’ employee & community relations manager and veteran himself, said Mountaire attends and sponsors the ride because of what it stands for.
“They are riding across the nation to the Vietnam memorial in Washington for those who can’t or who remain either prisoners of war or missing in action in Southeast Asia,” he said. “It is a ‘we will not forget you’ event and continues the awareness of those who gave all for our Country. Mountaire Farms continues to salute these American Veterans.”
Casey Mann can be reached at CaseyMann@Chathamnr.com.
