Rolling Thunder, 2005
Gen. Richard B. Myers
Every Memorial Day, the Pentagon becomes a rallying point of a different kind, as it hosts one of the largest motorbike rallies in the world. “Rolling Thunder” pays tribute to those killed in Vietnam, and remembers the missing from all American conflicts. The number of riders has grown each year since the rally was first held in 1988 – last year, an estimated 400,000 motorcycles made the ride.
Riders travel across the continent to reach the rallying point in the Pentagon’s North Parking lot. Among the way, many stop at schools and tell their stories to children, in order to keep the meaning of Memorial Day alive.
The participation of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Myers (and his wife, Mary Jo Myers) dovetails with Jim Lacey’s profile in “The Commanders,” which offers a portrait of General Myers and of other officers Mr. Lacey encountered in Iraq. The behaviour Lacey describes speak to the highest and best military traditions, and we commend them to you this Memorial Day.
