Run For the Wall

Christiansen's Comments

First Published

Hinds County Gazette News Paper
Raymond Mississippi
 May 30 2013

I am writing this early morning, Monday May 27, Memorial Day.  Last Monday the Veterans riding motorcycles, passed through Hinds County, headed to Washington….making their annual Run For The Wall  

Run For The Wall recognizes the sacrifices and contributions made by all veterans who have served our nation.

Mission Statement: To promote healing among ALL veterans and their families and friends, to call for an accounting of all Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action (POW/MIA), to honor the memory of those Killed in Action (KIA) from all wars, and to support our military personnel all over the world.
Philosophy: We strive to maintain a safe, supportive and private atmosphere in which all participants can reflect and heal on their journey to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. in the hope that they can return home to a new beginning.
Goals:

1. To guide the participants across America.
2. To educate future generations as to the importance of accountability in wartime actions emphasizing that no one should be left behind.

I wanted my little buddy, three year old, Whit  to see the veterans on motorcycles.   “The Run” is impressive sight… hundreds of veterans participate. The group that came past us was the on the southern route, there is also a northern route, and as they travel the route more veterans join the band of vets.  By Memorial Day weekend there are hundreds and hundreds riding in to Washington.

 We stopped at the dollar store and bought an American flag to wave, so we could show our support for their cause.  Then we drove to the Farr Road I 20 over pass, between Edwards and Bolton, and joined a group of Bolton folks, many of the same people are there every year.

Whit

 To those gathered on the bridge to watch the motorcycles pass, it was both a solemn and celebratory occasion. I believe that to an appropriate response.

Many men and women have served in the armed forces, giving their lives, and far too many veterans sacrificed their sanity to defend this nation.

The cyclists, all they are asking, not for glory for themselves, but that those veterans and their families who each and everyday suffer the consequences of war, that they not be forgotten.

Keith Jenkins, himself a veteran, invited those gathered on the bridge to his house in Bolton, for a cook out…Pulled pork and all of the fixing…Grilled hot dogs, Jess Tackett was on the grill….Whit ate four hot dogs. We had a grand time!

Jess Tackett

And of course it is the right thing to do to make the day, a festive one, other wise their service would have been in vain.  Those men and women served this country, so we Americans could live, celebrate, and go on with our lives.

 Thank you

Love to all

Call if you need me