Taking Back Memorial Day
By Tom Shoop | Friday, May 25, 2007 | 12:22 PM
By Tom Shoop | Friday, May 25, 2007 | 12:22 PM
As Memorial Day weekend approaches, I’m making room for Government Executive editor at large Bob Brewin to weigh in with his opinion on the weekend’s events in Washington. Bob served in Vietnam as a field radio operator with 2nd Battalion, Ninth Marine Regiment and 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 1965-66. Here’s his take:
Memorial Day used to be a time for solemn reflection and a quiet time to honor those who answered the nation’s call to service -- especially those enshrined on the Wall at the Vietnam Memorial and honored in the serried ranks of simple graves at Arlington National Cemetery.But not anymore. Instead, Washington has become the site of the world’s largest single-day motorcycle rally, known as Rolling Thunder. This gathering will bring 400,000 motorcycles to the nation’s capital this weekend, the majority ridden by folks who are not veterans.
Rolling Thunder has been shattering the quiet peace of Memorial Day weekend for the past 20 years, and it’s time to call an end to it.
It is time for the National Park Service and the District of Columbia to stop issuing permits for this event -- which ensnarls the streets with obnoxiously noisy machines -- and return Memorial Day to the rest of us who want to remember and mourn in a quiet tribute.
I want to say hello to my friends memorialized on the Wall and trek over to Arlington without having to dodge the three day Rolling Thunder “tribute,” which has become more hollow each year for the past 20 years.
Comments
Dear Mr. Shoop:
You have the right to your opinion and to voice it as provided by the First Amendement AND PROTECTED BY MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVE THEIR COUNTRY. Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters have been are continue to be left behind while protecting America's freedoms.
Rolling Thunder has the right to their opinions and to voice them just as you do.
Mourn quietly as you please as Rolling Thunder vociferously cries for the nations SOLDIERS who were and are left behind... Never to be Forgotten.
PROUD VIETNAM VET WIFE
Heather Prince
Rolling Thunder, North Carolina Chapter 2
Mr. Shoop,
The letters above by Mr Vincent & Mr. Tuttle speaks volumes of truth about the meaning and the people that attend this event. For 14 years I have attended Rolling Thunder. I come back every year because of the people, civilian & veteran. Our group stays well outside DC, so when we ride down I-66 and from 10 miles out, see families with young childern gathered on the overpasses waving flags & cheering.....well I don't have the skill to express what that means. You have to experince it and think about it, keep it.
Your letter tells me what kind of day you expect in DC w/o "the obnoxiously noisy machines". I've seen "THAT LOOK" on some DC-ites faces out in the trendy burbs, and I imagine I may have seen it on you somewhere. I also noticed a smell in these areas, and it's the smell of money. I'm sure thats nothing new in DC.
Even though you may dream of a placid holiday off in DC, the by-product of determined veterans illustrating their cause is millions of $$$ in your local economy. They will howl if we were kicked out of town.
Besides, everybody else likes us.
Seadog
Seadog USS Coral Sea CVA-43 | Tuesday, May 29, 2007 | 05:28 PMMr. Shoop,
I'm a Vietnam combat Veteran and I'm very appreciative of the members of Rolling Thunder for their efforts on behalf of my fallen and forgotten brothers in ALL wars. We also now have the Gathering of Eagles who will do battle against the anti-war protestors( the Muslims 5th column in the United States)this very weekend at our West Point Officers Graduation.
These anitAmerican kooks also invaded DC March 17, but for the first time met resistance and confrontation from our nation's patriots....and where were you?
Have you protested the desecration of our Capitol steps and the Merchant Marine memorial by these vandals last January? Did you engage in mildly rhetorical chastisement at their threats of painting our Wall and other war memorials during their March 17 diatribes? Didn't think so.
At least we are doing something positive, something physical, about the traitorous statements and actions against our troops, our country, and the war our very future depends on. Are you? Didn't think so.
Jim Tuttle, Charlotte, NC
123rd AVN BN,Chu Lai, Ky Ha,1968
Warlords Skeeter Crewchief/Doorgunner
Harley Trike Rider
Rolling Thunder NC chapter 2
Gathering of Eagles, NC
DAV
VFW
MOPH
Dear Sir,
I spent more than 20 years serving in the military. During this time I was defending various rights that many Americans take for granted. This includes your right to free speech, which you have used to post your blog regarding Rolling Thunder. It also includes my right to gather with others and express myself in the manner I choose. Rolling Thunder does not require that an individual be a veteran to participate, and an individual does not have to be a veteran to want to support veterans rights. I do NOT find this gathering to be a hollow demonstration supporting veterans. Instead I find this to be a gathering of individuals that truely care how American Veterans are remembered and treated. I invite you to join me at the Pentagon parking lot Sunday morning, and I invite you to talk to the people you encounter there. If you do so, I believe you will see a side of America that you thought was missing. Everyone will greet you as a friend, and all will show you that American Veterans are not forgotten. I believe that the group of motorcycle riders that gather there represent an important piece of America, and that they are exercising some of the rights that I am still willing to defend, the right to gather together and freedom of expression. I am sorry if the method that I (and thousands of other riders) have elected to use is offensive to you. As I said at the begining, I spent more than 20 years defending the rights that many Americans take for granted, but this also includes my rights. I will be at Rolling Thunder, and I invite you to join me in remembering and honoring those that have served, and those that are currently serving in the U.S. military. I also invite you to join me in expressing my concerns for those service members that are Missing in Action, and those that may be Prisoners of War. I and thousands of other will not let them be forgotten. I sincerely hope that this response helps change your mind regarding the riders that you will encounter during the Memorial Day weekend.
Best Regards.
Dear Tom Shoop,
I'll make you a deal. You bring home ALL of the POW/MIA's this country has left behind after ALL wars, including the one we are engaged in, and Rolling Thunder will go away.
Till They All Come Home....
Lee Ann Johnson
Rolling Thunder Chapt 2 North Carolina
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Government Executive Editor Tom Shoop takes a look at news and events affecting the federal bureaucracy, from the perspective of a longtime observer of government.
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