| Veterans
News Flash 
Rolling
Thunder's 21st Anniversary Memorial Day Demonstration
To Include Families of Iraq War POWs/MIAs
Rolling Thunder Inc. will hold its 21st annual
Memorial Day weekend demonstration May 23-25, 2008,
in Washington, D.C., in support of POW/MIA and
veterans' issues.
 This year's event will
be especially meaningful in light of the recovery
of the remains of Iraq war POW SSgt. Keith "Matt" Maupin
in late March. Working on issues for current
and future veterans and for POWs and MIAs from
all wars is the core mission of Rolling Thunder
chapters nationwide. The event, which drew more
than 850,000 participants and spectators in 2007,
according to Rolling Thunder National estimates,
is expected to draw even larger numbers this
year.
Rolling Thunder will host and honor the families
of SSgt. Matt Maupin, as well as Pvt. Byron W.
Fouty and Sgt. Alex R. Jimenez both captured May
12, 2007. In addition, former Congressman Bill
Hendon (R-NC), co-author of An Enormous Crime,
an account of abandoned American POWs/MIAs in Southeast
Asia, is scheduled to be the keynote speaker for
Sunday's program at the Lincoln Memorial. Highlights
of the formal program are listed below.
Friday, May 23
- Wreath laying ceremony
at the Historic Congressional Cemetery, 1801
E St., SE, 10 a.m.
- Candlelight Vigil beginning
at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, 900
Ohio Dr., SW, and continuing to the other monuments,
8 p.m.
Saturday, May 24
- BBQ at Harley-Davidson
of Washington, D.C., 9407 Livingston Rd., Fort
Washington, MD, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
- U.S. Navy Memorial commemorative
wreath-laying ceremony, 701
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 11 a.m.
- "Saluting Our Troops" program
at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool,
900 Ohio Dr., SW, beginning at 11 a.m. with keynote
speaker Brigadier
General Wilma L. Vaught, USAF (Ret.), President,
Women In Military
Service For America Memorial Foundation.
- Afternoon visit to patients
in the Washington, D.C., Veterans
Administration Hospital, 50 Irving St., NW.
- Hospitality Night at the
Hyatt Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Hwy.,
8 p.m. Hosting and honoring families of POWs/MIAs,
Gold Star/Blue Star
families, and wounded veterans from Walter Reed
Hospital.
Sunday, May 25 - Gathering
in Pentagon parking lots (Army Navy Dr. & Fern
St.), followed by the traditional demonstration
motorcade/ride through the city of Washington,
ending at the Lincoln Memorial, where speakers
and musical tributes by Gordon Painter, Paulette
Carlson, and The Vettz round out the event.
Additional Information
Final
program details will be distributed in a press
release; background and other information will
be available on Rolling Thunder's web site approximately
May 5. In addition, there will be a staffed Media
room at Rolling Thunder's headquarters hotel, the
Hyatt Crystal City (VA). Members of Rolling Thunder's
National Media Committee will be available at event
locations throughout the weekend to assist working
press with interviews, photographs, and any other
needs. For more information or to schedule interviews
in advance with members of Rolling Thunder or with
speakers (as available), please contact Nancy Regg,
National Media Committee Chairperson, at 908-310-3268
(cell) or Nregg2@patmedia.net.
About Rolling Thunder
Incorporated
in 1995, Rolling Thunder®, Inc.
is a class 501 C-4 non-profit organization with
over 85 chartered chapters throughout the United
States. Membership is composed of men and women,
with 40-45% being non-veterans and the balance
being veterans from all wars and peacetime. Although
many of its members ride motorcycles, a person
does not have to own or ride a motorcycle to be
a member, just the time and willingness to be an
advocate for our troops, veterans, and POW/MIAs.
For more information about Rolling Thunder, visit
the organization's web site at www.rollingthunder1.com
SOURCE:
Yahoo News, Rolling Thunder Inc.
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